Scion of Zero
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: Louise always gets the worst luck with her familiar. What's with this strange girl who claims to fight giants and was summoned from a fantastical realm?
1. An unusual familiar

Familiar-Scion of Zero Chapter 1: An unusual familiar

A massive sledge-hammer of ice blasted through a five foot thick stone pillar as the eighty foot giant roared in anger. In a blink, the five foot two inch tall girl he was trying to kill spun to the as the crack-crack of her pistol fire blew small chunks of ice off of him. Her footing was steady on the supernaturally slick ice, but all it would take is a single misstep and she would be killed.

Far off in the distance, two more jotun finished sealing the fissure, finishing the trap. Now if she could only find her mother's stolen shield that they were supposed to have.

"Freeze her, brothers! Now that the cave is enclosed, we can send her to Ymir's grave," yelled the smallest giant, who was a mere sixty feet tall.

The temperature _was_ dropping, but it was not quite to the point of slowing her down. Though that would soon follow.

She saw an illusion of the shield with Medusa's head, her keen eyes noting its fakery. And, she realized, even worse was that it was missing a gash that her mother had mentioned. These giants had not even _seen_ the shield.

"I'm an idiot. You guys don't have the shield, do you?" she asked as almost ran up a slippery slope and leaped over to another ledge.

"Of course we do!" the smallest one tried to bluff, his lie echoing within their legend.

She was going to die if she did not escape. That was when she spotted a glowing portal. Perhaps one of her companions had opened it to allow her to escape. As her knees started to quiver, she zipped through the portal at over two hundred miles an hour.

She found herself falling through a void, warming up slightly. She hit the air, thousands of feet out of another portal, high above a castle. She was still being drawn down to the ground, but the winds caught around her, slowing her motion into an explosion of light.

"Hmm," the young girl said as she landed on the earth with a soft tap.

"Who are you?" asked a girl intently in front of her under an azure blue sky, a short stick in her hand out and ready. Underneath a black cloak, she wore a white blouse and a gray pleated skirt. A golden amulet with a petagram on it was about her neck.

Actually, that appeared to be the normal outfit for the girls in the surrounding crowd. The young men had trousers instead of the skirts. Among them all were animals. Cats, mice, ravens, owls and far more fantastic things.

"I'm Sheila," the slightly taller girl replied cautiously.

"Where are you from, commoner?" the strawberry-blonde girl demanded.

"I was last in the Underworld where I was fighting three frost giants," the 'just' blonde girl said. She slid the black sword into a sheath at her waist and her pistol into her shoulder-holster.

That got a ripple of laughter from the crowd. They had thought Louise was going to fail for the second time and have to try again.

"Not only did Louise the Zero summon a commoner, but a defective and insane one at that!" someone from the crowd yelled out, causing a ripple of laughter.

They could probably be forgiven that, as the new and strangely garbed girl did not look big enough nor strong enough to fight a full grown knight, much less monsters like a giant. She was a few inches taller than five feet and was only starting to develop womanly curves, looking only twelve years old. With her loose T-shirt, jeans and short hair-cut, she mostly looked like a young boy.

"I... I just made a little mistake!" Louise (the strawberry-blonde) stated loudly.

"What mistake are you talking about? Nothing unusual happened." This was from a burly boy her same age.

"Of course! After all, she's Louise the Zero!" cat-called another girl.

The crowd started laughing at her again.

"Professor Colbert!" the girl shouted. Louise seemed to be in a panic, begging to redo something and gesticulating frantically.

That was when a middle-aged man in a robe carrying a staff appeared. "What is it that you want from me, Miss Vallière?"

"Please! Let me try the summoning one more time!" Louise called out.

Sheila just raised an eyebrow at that.

The man wearing the black robe, shook his head. "I cannot allow that, Miss Vallière."

"What! Why not?" Louise blurted out.

"It is strictly forbidden to summon a second familiar. When you are promoted to a second year student, you must summon a familiar, which is what you just did." He seemed moderately amused as he put his wand away from where he had surreptiously cast a spell.

That got a frown out of the stranger in their midst. She was not some witches channel!

"Your elemental specialty is decided by the familiar that you summon. It enables you to advance to the appropriate courses for that element. You cannot change the familiar once you have summoned it, because the Springtime Familiar Summoning is a sacred rite. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to take him," he explained sagely.

That got a start of surprise from Sheila. "Ahem?"

"But I've never heard of having a commoner as a familiar!" the young student witch said.

"Excuse me, but I am not a commoner. At least not according to normal standards." Sheila then glared at them as it appeared Louise nor the older man heard her.

"You can cast magic?" one of the other students asked.

"No, but-" she tried to reply.

"Then you are a commoner. Noble can cast magic, commoners can not," the fat boy with an owl on his shoulder replied. At least she seemed to have a better personality than Louise.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." Louise put her hand on the much taller girl's shoulder while her wand touched her forehead. "Feel lucky upon what I bestow upon you, commoner," the girl stated with an intent look. She then stretched up on her tippy-toes while pulling the blond girl down into a kiss.

"What did you do to me?" the strange girl asked even as she _felt_ liquid fire burning through her veins.

Louise removed her lips. "It is done."

"You have failed 'Summon Servant' the first time, but you succeeded with 'Contract Servant' in just one try," Colbert exclaimed happily.

"It's just because he's only a commoner."

"If he was a powerful magical beast, she wouldn't have been able to make a contract," a blonde girl with her hair in curls cat-called out.

Some of the students laughed and caused a small fight between Louise and the girl called Montmorency.

Sheila staggered as it felt like her whole body was heating up. "You idiot. You might have killed us both," she said softly. She then felt something inscribing itself upon her left hand as the magic interacted within her.

"Those are some strange runes," Mr. Colbert said as he studied the warrior-girl.

"Ehnn," she managed to reply.

"Well, it is time to go back to the castle now that our last student has finished her summoning!" the teacher called out.

Ah. A castle. Of course it would be a castle for wizards and witches with their familiars. Just like in Harry Potter's books.

That was when the rest of the students and the teacher floated off the ground to fly (slowly) back to the castle. Several of Louise's peers jeered at her, warning her to walk back instead of flying.

"I take it you have some problems using magic _most_ of the time?" Sheila asked.

"I can sometimes get my spells to work," Louise protested, looking very small.

"Well, I know it is not a matter of power. You summoned me from the Land of the Dead. If you don't mind talking to me, I will take us back to the castle." She then reached out to take Louise's hand in her own. A wind seemed to pick up and they were suddenly flying much, much faster than the teacher and the rest of the students. In less than a minute they landed on a tower even as the students started to whisper among themselves.

"You can do- Wait, you did not use a wand. How did you do that?" Louise stammered nervously.

"Among the many magical being you summoned, you actually summoned the most magical, Louise the Zero."

"But you are human!" the young witch protested.

"To be quite truthful, I am only half-human. My other side is more magical than dragons and other sundry monsters. In fact, my grandmother is sometimes called the Mother of Monsters, as she creates them to kill her foes. Hera can be a bit vindictive at times."

"So could you learn magic?" she asked in consternation.

"Probably, though I'm not sure it would be worth my time," Sheila replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, you are not too old. You look younger than sixteen, so you could definitely learn." Louise looked quite smug at that. A wizard for a familiar would help her a lot.

"I am sixteen. Getting back to my mortal world is going to be hard, isn't it?" she said as she looked off into the sky. "After all, we only have one smaller moon."

"Interesting. You are very interesting." Louise looked incredibly happy. "Let us go to my room."

That was where Louise discovered that she had summoned and contracted a girl, something that had not been obvious to her.

* * *

Servants had delivered food to all the dorms, as it appeared it was expected for the students to spend the evening and night bonding with their familiar.

"I never thought that I would summon a human. And a commoner at that," Louise mused as she brushed her hair a bit to calm herself. It appeared her familiar would probably not need that morning ritual, with her hair so short.

"While I can't _cast_ magic, I'm am quite supernatural, Louise," the other girl said where she sat on the edge of the four-poster bed, her strange shoes kicked off and into the corner.

"You are my familiar! And with the ability to fly, quite amazing," Louise said, then giggled. She really had managed to summon something unusual. She pointed over to the floor where a pile of hay lay. "This shall be your bed-"

"No."

Louise glared right at her. "What do you mean?"

"I am not an animal to be kept on stray. I will _never_ be a slave. This is not open to discussion," the scion declared with murderous intention. "No one has the right to dictate that to me."

"You expect me to share my bed with you?" the noble screeched out.

"It _is_ quite a large bed-"

"No. Your bed is there," Louise pointed at the hay on the floor.

"I am trying to be reasonable. But I am almost to the point of smashing your bed to kindling and throwing it into the nearest river so that neither of us have the bed." Sheila had stood up at this point, slightly towering over the girl in front of you.

"You think you could do that? How dare you-" Louise suddenly gulped as the _thing_ in front of her suddenly picked up her hardwood wardrobe... daintily and with one hand. A small shiver shot up her spine. She remembered the four large men that had carried it in, before it had been loaded with her cloaks.

The wardrobe thumped to the ground solidly as the shorter-haired girl reigned in her temper. "I am sorry about seeming to threaten you. I did not mean to do that. But I am trying to convey that I will never allow myself to be treated so poorly." The sun was starting to go down.

Louise turned to the lamp, snapping her finger light it. "I do not forgive your action."

"Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière... Let us try to start over for a second. We have been bonded together, familiar and companion. We should try to work together. How would you like it if you removed from where you were supposed to be and suddenly found yourself effectively a slave?" Sheila pleaded in a very heartfelt manner, pouring her Legend into the appeal.

"You must treat me properly! I am a noble and expect to be treated accordingly," Louise said after a long moment. She relaxed a bit. "Perhaps you are right. While you are not a normal familiar, even they are expected to form strong bonds."

Sheila bowed at the waist. "My name is Sheila Henderson. I shall treat you with respect for your station as long as you remember that I am a Freeman, not a peasant, slave nor unthinking animal. Let us respect each other."

"Respect. You would be the first-" Louise stopped what she was about to speak, looking out into the sunset. "I would like that." If she hogged the covers, she would still kick her out of the bed. "I am tired and would like to sleep now."

Louise started to disrobe casually, getting a raised eyebrow at that. Sheila felt the need to clean her clothes, as they were quite rank.

The young mage thought about ordering her familiar to do her laundry, but that would be demeaning. It appeared she would have to still depend on the servants some more, unlike the other students who could clean their own clothes.

The two slight girls fit the bed quite easily.

* * *

Sheila awoke very early the next morning in Louise's bed. It was just barely large enough for both of them.

She washed up with a basin using cold water and soap. She would have to see if they had a real bath house. She redressed into her damp clothing that she had given a bit of a cleaning to last night. She idly kicked Louise's underwear into a corner basket and then exited the room. It would take a bit of thought, but she could probably make a reasonable 'washing machine' if she put her mind to it. Something for a later time.

She wandered the battlements until the sun started rising and then back to Louise's room, finding her way through the twisting passageways with ease.

The blonde scion was just stepping back into the hallway to Louise's room when a door next to her opened.

"Oh, you are that commoner that Louise the Zero summoned," an incredibly busty, red-headed young woman said. Behind her a toad-like lizard was following her out.

"My name is Sheila Henderson. Only in these lands am I considered a 'commoner'," Sheila said with a roll of her eyes. "My country only has citizens. Everyone is equal before the law there, while my family is a very renowned and famous across my world."

"I am Kirche Zerbst, so that you know how to properly address me! You are either very naive or your land is an anarcistic madhouse."

"I didn't say we did not have politics. But anyone can become a politician if they really desire it." Sheila stepped around her and opened the door to find the sleepy looking Louise just about to open the door.

"Good _morning,_ Louise!" Kirche said in an overly saccharine greeting.

"Good morning, Kirche. Sheila, you left me to dress on my own. And did not do my laundry," the shorter girl said as she turned to her familiar.

"I'm not a body servant, but I will see that it is attended to," the scion replied. "I take it you want breakfast?"

"Of course." Louise set out, Sheila slinking along behind them as Kirche babied her fire lizard behind them. It's flame at the tip of its tail was wagging happily.

It was down several flight of stairs and into a main entrance before they entered the main hall. There were three great tables parallel to each other. Brown robe-wearing students on the right, purple robes on the left and black in the middle like Louise wore.

"What is the significance of the different robes?" Sheila asked as she held Louise's seat out and then pushed it in. She looked up to an elevated area at the end of the hall where the teachers sat. There were no familiars here, but she could hear them in a hall outside.

"The different years of the academy. I am a second year, hence why I wear black. The upper-years wear purple," the strawberry-blonde girl replied as she sat down. She looked over at Sheila, taking in her serious look. "This food is only for nobles..."

"I'm sure there is standard fare that I could have, but I would like to sit here at your side so that we can continue to converse." Sheila sat next to her, looking down the table and not giving Louise time to argue. Her sense of presence was quite strong and alluded to steel that would not bend.

Louise nodded, a little unsure. She gestured for a servant to come over. "A bowl of what ever you ate this morning for my familiar."

The servant was back shortly with a bowl of porridge and a simple spoon. "This is all that was left."

"Thank you, miss," the scion replied graciously.

"Please, just call me Siesta." With that, she bowed and went back to her duties.

Sheila rolled her eyes at Louise's antics. Conversation was light as the nobles had their fancy repast of fluffy pancakes, poached eggs and spicy slices of sausage.

"Why is _that_ at our table?" Kirche asked a girl with blonde curls while pointing at Sheila imperiously with her fork.

"I have a name that you even know. I am sitting with Louise to be sociable," the scion replied in perfect haughter.

"Louise, remove your familiar from our table. It's stench offends me. Montmorency, could you give her one of your fragerances so that I won't have to smell a commoner?" the 'Ardent' said loudly while ignoring Sheila.

"My perfumes are just for me and my friends," her friend protested.

Sheila stood up and slammed the palm of her hand down on the table. "I do not stink, as I cleaned myself and my clothing. I take offense at your insinuation."

"Are you challenging me?" the buxom student asked in shock.

"If that is what it takes to earn some respect here, then yes, I do. Face me in combat or be silent," the tall, thin girl snapped back.

Everyone at the tables was listening raptly now.

"N-Now- now-" Louise started to interject. "Duels are forbidden."

"Only between nobles, Zero!" Montmorency noted with a smirk. "Deal with Louise's familiar to show her the folly of facing a noble mage, Kirche."

"But she's a brute of a warrior. You saw the sword," Kirche whined. "What if my beautiful face gets marked?"

"Never fear, Kirche the Ardent!" a poppinjay of a young man suddenly said as he walked down the table to them. "This rose will stand in your place as your champion."

"You, your champion or both of you are welcome to duel with me. You can even bring your familiars, if you are so worried," Sheila countered loudly.

"Sheila!" Louise blurted out. "That is dangerous."

"Louise, remember what I told you. Among all the familiars that were summoned yesterday, I am by far the most magical and powerful here." Her blue-green eyes almost flashed in repressed anger.

"Really? You have a very high opinion of yourself, lowly commoner. It sounds like you need to be reminded of your place. I, Guiche de Gramont the Bronze, shall endeveaor to teach you some manners!" He fiddled with a rose in his hands, looking quite handsome in his manners.

"Shall we take this outside? We should not disturb the morning's breakfast any more than we have," the demigoddess noted.

"Of course! Let us be off to the Vestri Court."

Most of the students tromped out with them, even as one of the teachers followed to watch. They formed a wide circle around Guiche and Sheila. The young mage in training pulled out his wand.

"Do not feel bad when I defeat you. The Gramont are famous for our combat skills and chivarly," he said with a winning smile. With his ruffled shirt and curly hair, he was the epitome of the foppish noble.

"I will try to not make you look too foolish. Please do take me seroiusly," Sheila replied with her own smile.

With a wave of an ornate, rose-carved wand, Guiche created a bronze statue of a valkyrie. "You shall, at least, be defeated by a beauty." He looked confused as he realized he had lost track of the girl.

From right behind him, where she had almost flickered to in motion, Sheila asked, "It's a little slow, isn't it?" She poked him in the back.

"Gah!" he almost shrieked. "How did you do that?" He stumbled away quickly, his wand controlling the golem valkyrie to charge and attack.

Sheila moved with the attacker's spear, pivoting the golem on her hip and then burying the golem's hed into the ground. "Is that it?" she asked as she ended up in a crouch.

"I have yet begun to fight!" Guiche quickly summoned four more golems and unstuck the first one.

"Very well." Sheila held out her hand and from the air, pulled down a lightning bolt, holding it as casually as one would a spear. "I learned this from my grandfather."

"She did not use a wand," one of the bystanders called out in shock.

The bolt of lighning struck through two of the bronze golems, very near obliterating them. "I am not a mage. This is something innate to me. Like I said to Louise, I am far more magical than any of the familiars that were summoned yesterday."

Guiche gulped but gamely sent his last two golems. Sheila met the first one, grabbing its two hands. With a massive flex of her too-skinny looking arms, she ripped the bronze golem into broken shards. She let the next spear jab from the next golem slide by her face. She grabbed the spear (which was actually part of the golem) and then planeted her feet on the ground solidly.

With a grunt of effort, she used the spear as a lever and tossed the golem over the fifty tall wall that was over a hundred feet away.

The fop was looking shocked, as it was obvious that the girl was not seriously threatened by his golems.

"My turn." She appeared in front of him, inside the reach of his wand faster than his eyes could follow. She slapped the palm of her hand into the center of his chest, knocking him back over thirty feet away where he came to a halt in a crumpled pile.

Wheezing, he rolled over and tried to stagger to his feet. He tried to speak, but his muscles refused to unclench.

"Professor Colbert, I think that we are done." Sheila revealed that she had Guiche's rose-wand in her hand. She then turned to Kirche, the slightly taller and far more buxom girl flinched. "Do you wish to take the place of your champion and continue?"

"Ah, no. It appears I mispoke. You are nothing like what I expected of the familiar of the Zero," she said in a strained voice.

Sheila walked back over to Guiche, handing him his wand and unseen to all, relieving him of the greatest part of his wounds with a small burst of legendary power. "I might have over done it."

"Why did you not use your sword?" the disheveled (but still far too handsome) earth elementalist asked in confusion.

"I did not want to kill you," she said in perfect innocence.

* * *

The young demigoddess followed the very disturbed Louise to her first class. It actually came across as rather modern as compared to the rather Dark Age technology that was shown elsewhere.

The class was of about twenty-five students that quickly filled in to sit in front of the teacher who looked to be a matronly sort.

"Welcome everyone to your second year of class here a Tristain Magic Academy. I am Mrs. Chevreuse," she said with a small smile. After quickly calling role, she looked at Sheila in consternation. "And who are you?"

"I was summoned here by Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière during the familiar ritual yesterday," Sheila explained casually.

"Oh, I remember hearing that. How interesting. So you are going to watch?" At the girl's nod, the teacher continued. "My Runic name is 'Red Clay.' Chevreuse the Red Clay. This year, I will be teaching you all the magic of the Earth element. Do you know the four great elements of magic, Miss Ollister?"

That got Sheila to narrow her eyes. Four Elements? But Louise had called upon the _five_ sacred elements to finish her familiar contract.

"They are Earth, Fire, Wind and Water," the girl replied in a bored tone.

"And combined with the now-lost element of 'Void,' there are five elements in total, as everyone should already know. Of the five elements, I believe Earth holds an extremely important position. This isn't just because my affinity is Earth, nor is it simply a personal preference, but how it is used in our civilization. Now then, let's begin the lesson." Chevreuse waved her hand across the table, palming a few pebbles in a row.

Sheila was quite curious as she watched. Was Void like Spirit? This seemed to be based on a Alchemical-centric version of the Elemental Paradigm, but not quite the same.

Mrs. Chevreuse continued her instruction on the importance of Earth and how it was used in 'modern' construction, which Sheila thought was quite humorous. Finally the teacher explained the most simple of abilities, that of turning one material into another... Transmutation.

Waving her wand and muttering a short chant that only Sheila could hear, Chevreuse turned a pebble into an off-color gold metal. That elicitated an excited babble about gold, bronze and ranks, where the teacher explained she could only transmute things to bronze, being a triangle level mage, not a square.

Sheila leaned over to Louise. "What is the significance of Triangle vs. Square mages, milady?"

"That has to do with how many elements that are used in a spell. Dot, Line, Triangle and Square. Mrs. Chevreuse can do three and is a Triangle level," Louise whispered back.

"But no Star?" Sheila muttered in thought as Louise gave her an odd look.

"Miss Vallière, quit that chatter," the teacher called out.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the young mage said quickly.

"If you have time to talk, then you have time to demonstrate. Come up here," the teacher ordered.

"Me?" Louise asked in consternation.

"Perhaps you should call upon someone else," Kirche quickly said even as she leaned back slightly. She carefully slid her salamander familiar back a bit behind her seat with her toes.

"And why is that?" the teacher asked in a stern way.

"It's dangerous," the red-head replied, getting the other students to agree with nods.

"I've heard that she is a hard worker. She will never advance if she does not attempt anything," was the teacher's response.

"I'll do it!" Louise called out, standing up from her chair. She walked up to the front, ignoring the cries of 'don't do it' and 'no, not again' from the other students. The student in the front row retreated back a tier or two.

Sheila raised an eyebrow at all this. It did not take long for her to find out.

Louise chanted a short rune while visualizing the metal she was attempting to transmute the pebble, which promptly exploded with stunning force. The teacher was knocked out, but Louise was only covered in a smudge of soot. The rests of the classroom had become a madhouse, as familiars awoke or fled right through the closed windows.

Sheila seemed to almost teleport to Louise's side. "Just a bit bruised. Which is strange, as you were a lot closer than Mrs. Chevreuse." Behind the stone table, she carefully healed all of the teachers bruises which immediately awoke her up.

"It appears I messed up a little bit," Louise admitted.

"As always, you mean, Louise the Zero!" cried out one of the boys.

"My Lucky! He ate my Lucky!" another student called out as a huge snake had eaten his crow.

"Why did that happen?" Sheila asked curiously as she helped up the teacher. "Does that happen if you do not have any Earth element affinity?"

"No, it should merely show her primary element. Heat up the pebble for fire, dampen it for water, and knock it away with wind," the teacher said as she shook her head.

"And what of void, because _something_ happened. It did not transmute, a Dot Earth ability, so Louise is not Earth. And none of the other element seem to apply. That leaves only Void," Sheila noted aloud.

"That is impossible. The Void is lost to the antiquities of time," Chevreuse said in an angry tone.

"So how would you learn your elemental affinity?" Sheila asked.

"That is a first year question and not something I will be answering. You two will be cleaning up this class. The rest of you, dismissed!" the teacher ordered, walking out of the class in a huff.

* * *

Two hours later, after the window had been replaced and everything wiped down (which Sheila had done the lion's share of work) they were finally finishing up.

"So Louise, how do you attempt to discover your element?" Sheila asked as she clumped down the last stone table with her inhuman strength.

"You attempt to cast spells and then when one works, you have found your element," she replied an a slightly more quiet tone than normal.

"But Void magic has been lost, so how would you cast spells of that sort to test your affinity?" Sheila asked as she washed her hand on the rag and cold, soapy water.

"You can't, obviously. Void is legendary _and_ lost," the mage said in an angry tone.

"It would be the height of karma if you were Void user, Louise," Sheila said with a grin. "A Void is nothing... or zero substance. So if you are of the Legendary Void, then your name would be very appropriate as the Zero."

"So why would my spells keep exploding things?" Louise asked, suddenly thoughtful.

"It is possible you are accidentally voiding the molecular binding force in an item." Sheila frowned as she considered things. "Let's try this out then. Let's have you try to channel your element in some smoke. That way you can see if you are doing something unusual. And hopefully without quite as large an explosion."

It took them a few minutes, but they found some papers and some oil. Dampening the paper slighlty, the scion lit it when Louise declared she was ready.

"You don't have to put a lot of effort into it. Just a bit for now," she told her mage-companion.

A round ball appeared in the middle of the smoke, pushing back the smoke. With a snap, it collapsed.

"Congratulations, that appears to be a success. Now how do we go about creating the runic chant for what you do? The language does not appear to include negatives, nulls, nothing or the concept of zero. It would be very cumbersome." Sheila turned to the slate board and picked up the chalk. Then she started to write. "We may have to invent some new runes to make this less irksome."

"I am not understanding. How could you invent something like that? The language of magic just is! And what is a molecular bond? Is that part of void magic?" Louise had her wand out still, her eyes shining in thought.

"Language is a living thing. It springs up from the languages before it, adopting new characteristics and becoming its own self by this change." Sheila frowned. "To understand molecular bonds, you would have to understand more about what the world is. Water is a fourth order level of reality. It is made of two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen. When these combine at the molecular level, they become a unique substance that is no longer two gasses."

"Eh? Water is two airs? How is that possible?" Louise exclaimed in shock.

"Physics is a little strange that way, but you shouldn't need to really bother. You do not _seem_ to disrupt those atomic bonds. Which is a good thing, young lady, as if you accidentally did that to a grain of rice, this castle would likely be devestated. If you did it to this pen, there would be a good size crater where the castle existed previously."

"What is gold made of?" Louise asked in sudden avarice. If she could crack that secret of alchemy!

"Gold is actually just one element. And fairly stable one too. That is probably why it is so hard to enchant into existence," she continued.

"And silver?" Louise asked hoping for a better answer then with gold.

"The same."

Louise looked like a kicked puppy at that. "Wait, so that makes gold and silver a third order substance... an element?" At Sheila's nod, she then continued on. "What is a second order substance?" She was learning more from this girl about how the world worked than she had in years of study.

"Ah, the atomic 'building blocks'. They are a bit odd. Generally, they are only Electrons, Protons and Neutrons. Depending on the numbers that used, you can tell what element they are. There are also negative matter versions, but they are relatively rare in this material universe. The final level of is fairly theoretical, as quantum strings of space-time energy are posited to create that order of reality."

"I think my head hurts," Louise complained.

"It is unlikely you will ever have to deal with anything that is not a molecule or element, as that is everything in the world that you can really react with."

"How does this figure into the Five Holy Elements?" Louise demanded.

"Water, Earth, Wind, Fire and Void. These are more states of matter. Liquid, Solid, Vapor, Plasma and Nothingness. It would be interesting to see if liquid metal could be controlled by water or not." Sheila gave her a smile as she sketched out four new symbols. "Let's add these symbols to lexicon. This one means Nothing. This one means Negative Value."

Louise listened raptly. "It's too bad this won't help anyone else."

Sheila looked at her for a long moment. "Are you sure? Perhaps some of your fellow students have a secondary element of Void that never gets trained."

The young mage blinked at that, then narrowed her eyes in thought.

* * *

Sheila had become a bit of a regular in the kitchens, as if she wanted anything from 'home' she would have to cook it herself. So sandwiches, burgers, french fries and other 'American' food were being introduced to them. They weren't sure on the hamburger and bun though. In repayment, she had made a crude, hand-cranked washing machine and boiler. Clothing was much easier to clean now once she had gotten them to start using it.

"Good morning, Marteau. And Siesta." She gave a wave to the rest of them after she dropped off Louise's laundry to be cleaned.

"Ah, tis our Sword and Master Craftsman!" the chief cook called out.

"I am just here for some porridge and toast." The young scion was still dressed in her one outfit, heavily washed during the nights. At some point, her sword and pistol had disappeared because she was not in constant danger. "You guys look like you are preparing for a feast today."

"That is correct on this day of Void. No classes are in session. Many students even travel to the capital to shop or to go to church," Siesta explained with a soft smile.

"Hmm. Perhaps I shall ask Louise to take me shopping. A single change of clothing will wear out quickly, no matter how well you treat them." Sheila took her bowl of porridge and two pieces of toast and nodded as she headed to the great hall where all the 'noble' students were talking while they ate.

Well, all but Louise, as she was still a pariah among her peers.

"Hello, Louise!" Sheila called out as she sat down next to the shorter teen.

"Familiar." Louise had learned that calling Sheila a servant brought out her ire. As long as she was treated fairly, she was not particular in demanding noble perogatives, which her display of lightning could definitely have warrented. "Perhaps we can work more on our project?"

"Certainly. I've been researching about the Founder Brimir and some of the spells he was supposed to use. He was reputed to have a powerful familiar that could defend him as he used very long incantations. And that makes sense," she said as she set her bowl and toast down.

"It does?" Louise replied as she scooped up a bit of her fluffy pancake.

"Remember what I said about the runic language not have proper terms for nulls and negatives? I actually figured out a very long and convoluted spell in the original runic, while in the new version we are working on it is only two symbols longer than a normal spell."

"I can't wait to try," the young mage exclaimed.

"Later, of course. We should also visit a tailor or seamstress. Only one set of clothing is not going to work over the long term. I will wear them out in short order and look very ragged," she explained.

"A very good point." Letting her famliar become shabby looking would make herself look bad!

* * *

The blonde demigoddess frowned as her overly sensitive nose was inudated by the smell of a city that did not have modern sanitation. She would have to wash off her sports shoes.

They were walking along a cobblestone road in between tight-fitting buildings like in old Europe. "It appears the city needs a good rain that lasts for several days."

"It's so smelly afterwards," Louise complained. "Though it is a little cleaner afterwards. There's a seamstress for commoners."

"That would be for the best. A good, sturdy cloth is what I need to be able to fight in."

The little wooden sticks that worked as a bell on the door let the owner know they had arrived. The old woman looked confused, "My lady, are you sure you have found the right establishment?"

"Yes, of course. I am here for my servant... I mean, my familiar to get fitted with some clothing," Louise said imperiously, though she had quickly noted Sheila's anger at being called a servant.

"What are you looking for?" the seamstress asked while covering a whimper.

"Just sturdy clothing or did you want any livery and in a more uniform-look?" Sheila asked the mage who was in control of the money she carried.

It was hashed out that the seamstress would make three uniforms that were half-military and half-butler looking, which scandalized the seamstress when she found out that Sheila was a young girl. Sheila was quickly fitted with one, only taking an hour.

They were walking back out on the streets an hour later, when Sheila noted a black smith. "Shall we check out the knives? I notice you don't have your own dagger."

"I have a wand," Louise replied, looking offended.

"But a warrior mage always carries a dagger as a back up weapon," Sheila stated. "You are planning on being one? As the youngest daughter of the family, it is either that or be married off as chattel."

Louise looked away. "I am already engaged."

"So you are planning on just being a mother then? That doesn't seem to be your nature." Sheila stepped into the smithy and started to browse the wares.

The young noble just stood past the inside of the door.

"Welcome, welcome! Are you here for a sword for your guard, noble lady?" the stout and hardened man said.

"Certainly. Show of your wares," Sheila said abruptly. She gave Louise a small wink that the shop owner could not see. The first sword was quite gaudy. Sheila took but a single swing with it and noted that the runes on her hand had lit up dimly. "Hmm. Totally unbalanced. A soldier would become weary in only ten minutes of fighting. Perhaps something slightly more functional?

The blacksmith looked nonplussed at that. The boy (so he thought) seemed to be more skilled than his years should allow. After six more swords (with only one being reasonably decent) Sheila noticed a very rusty sword.

"This is disheartening. To let a weapon degrade from such a lack of care does not bode well for this establishment." She was getting into this old world haggling-

"Who are you calling a rusty and degraded weapon?" the sword replied. "It's his fault!"

Louise and Sheila looked at the sword in shock.

"Derf! Shut up!" the smith shouted. "Ignore him! It's his attitude that makes me not want to deal with him."

"A talking sword. And fairly old," Sheila said in an intrigued tone.

"That's right! You won't see my like around again," 'Derf' boasted. "I'm thousands of years old."

The demigoddes pulled out the sword, the runes on her wrist lighting up for just a second. She swished it around, liking the balance.

"I'll let that one go for just one thousand gold. A bargain!"

"I bet this sword has sat there for years." She ran her hand down the blade, brushing off some of the rust. "If you had tried to keep it clean and sharpened, it might be worth that.

"Hey, how do think I feel about getting that way?" 'Derf' grumbled darkly. "It's not like I can get up and sharpen and clean myself."

"Three hundred gold, I think." Sheila gave a sniff. "It's obvious I'm going to have to do a lot of work to clean this up."

"You rob me! No less than five hundred!" the smith retorted, his mustache bristling.

"Three fifty!" She had started too high. It was obvious that he would have gone lower than even three hundred.

"Four hundred! And you rob my children of their home!" he declaimed loudly.

"Three-seventy-five! Lest we leave immediately to find another smithy," she countered.

"Sold!"

And that was how Fate and Legend entwined them deeper within the foretellings of Void.

* * *

That evening as the sun was setting, Louise was still working on her Void magic. Again. It had not been going well. They were in the last rays of sun on the west side of the academy grounds.

"The new additions to runic should be allowing you more control," Sheila noted as she watched the mage create a bubble of nothingness, with crackling black lightning. "Hold firm your mind, Louise, so that you control the magic and it does not control you."

That had been the wrong thing to say, as her concentration had wavered and the ball of Void shot off, blasting a tree to splinters and then smashing into the wall of the academy and left a huge crack in it.

Sheila sighed even as she noted an adult from the school looked on in shock. "Only a One for effort. I think some meditation exercises might be important to undertake-"

Both of them looked over in shock as a huge, one-hundred foot tall golem appeared. Sheila reacted immediately, snatching Louise off the ground and leaped away to a tower-wall over a hundred feet away.

Massive fists of stone smashed at the weakened wall, tearing a hole in it.

"She hit the wall that you damaged to break in. It appears your magic was actually more potent than the huge golem," Sheila quickly surmised. "What is in that area?" The scion blinked as she saw the female, cloaked up figure reappeared, while quickly waving her wand behind her. "You have got to be kidding me. Where did the LAW rocket come from?"

"I do not understand," Louise complained.

"Well, you can throw as many explosive spells as you like at it. I'm going to catch that thief!" And with that, Sheila charged over to the massive golem. She dodged to the right as part of the golem exploded with stunning force. "Surrender, thief!"

Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt looked on in shock. She reacted with her fail-safe plan, sinking into the shoulder of her golem and into the ground to escape. Sheila's kick slammed into the place she had been, barely missing her.

The golem rocked again from another explosion as Louise hit it with another of her spells, then the whole thing crumbled beneath Sheila. Rather than fall to the ground in a possible landslide, Sheila just flew back while looking around.

"She must have walked through the Earth like Dolph does," Sheila said as she landed.

"A powerful Earth caster. At least Triangle power," her mage said, scanning the area one last time.

"We'll probably have to explain what we were doing here," her familiar replied.

Across the broken wall, the red-haired Kirche and pale-haired Tabitha had been watching (spying) on Louise and her familiar when the fight had broken out.

"Trouble," the quiet girl said.

"Is that all you can say? Of course there is trouble! Fouquet just robbed the school!" the excitable fire elementalist almost shouted.

* * *

All three mages were standing in a row the next morning. Kirche looked enthralled, Tabitha bored and Louise excited as Sheila watched from slightly behind them.

"So you are sure she was a woman?" old man Osmond asked from his seat behind his desk.

"My familiar nearly entered close combat with her," Louise explained. "But she escaped through the ground."

"That means we now know more about her than anyone else! But the loss of the Staff of Destruction... terrible!" Professor Colbert said as he rubbed his balding head.

"So that weapon had been used before?" Sheila asked carefully.

"Yes, a strange soldier used one to save my life from a manticore years ago. Why if he had not, I would have died! He's buried here on the grounds with his staff and I placed the other one in our vaults," the old man said through his beard.

There was a sudden squeak as a mouse was picked up and floated away from the girl's feet. "Ah, so that LAW rocket was not discharged then. It is still a threat."

"LAW rocket? You know what that is?" Osmond asked in surprise.

"It is a heavy weapon for individual soldiers to use against fortified vehicles and structures. A little too light-weight to really be effective, but better than any other weapon. I think my people quit using that variety about twenty years ago," she explained.

Osmond directed her to place his familiar on his desk. "So you would know how to use it?"

"In a general manner," she replied.

That was when there was a knock at the door. At the order to enter, Osmond's secretary entered. Sheila barely schooled her face to not show her shock.

"Headmaster! I bring news about where Fouquet may be hiding!" she called out in a quite convincing manner. "After I heard of the robbery last night, I immediately went to investigate. I heard from a peasant about someone staying in a cottage about half a days journey from here."

Colbert stepped forward. "We must send to the palace for someone to recover the Staff of Destruction!"

"It would take too long," Osmond noted. "By the time they could send someone, she will have escaped! One of our staff must go!" He finished his pronouncement with a wave of his ornate pipe and then took a toke upon it.

None of the teachers could meet his eye, starting to stammer out excuses.

"I will go!" Louise suddenly declared. "My magic was affecting the golem before she fled my familiar."

Kirche and Tabitha looked on in shock.

"My lady, there is no real reason to bother," Sheila called out. "After all, Fouquet is right here." With that, she pointed at the 'secretary' of the headmaster. "Isn't that the case, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?"

Everyone froze for just a second. The thief tried to bluff her out. "How rediculous!"

"I assume you needed something more? Perhaps an instruction manual? My eyes are keen. I can seen in almost pitch black darkness better than most people can see under the sun," Sheila explained her thought.

Louise had her wand out. "My familiar is very potent. She was able to read signs from miles away."

"It's not possible- Wait. You were asking me many questions just yesterday on the vault! I may have accidentally revealed some of the secrets of its protections!" Professor Colbert looked shocked as he remembered the conversation. "But a Triangle level Earth user would not have been able to bypass it."

Ms. 'Longuevill' snapped out her wand and tried to cast a spell, only to discover that her wand was missing by the end of the incantation.

"No magic for you, I'm afraid," Sheila said with the wand in her hand.

"So fast!" Kirche exclaimed. "What sort of familiar are you?"

Louise stood taller in pride. "The most magical kind! She is no commoner, though not a mage either."

Osmond bound her in chains. "Indeed, very surprising. I was totally taken by her act. But what of the Staff of Destruction?"

"We can search her quarters and perhaps send someone to that cottage. Now that we know who had it, it should not be that tough to recover it," Sheila noted.

It ended up that Sheila was sent, as she said she could get there and back in only a few minutes. It had been in a chest in the cottage, still as effective as ever. It had been preserved quite well. But it would be kept with the other treasures in the vault.

* * *

The delayed ball and dance was in full swing with a band and feast fit for a king. Kirche was mobbed by many admirers, while many of the students partook of the simple pleasure of eating good food in pleasurable company. The great hall was decked in banners, with a large dancing area.

The doors opened, admitting Louise in a stunning white gown that made her petite frame sparkle under the light. After her admittance announcement, the music started back up. Sheila drifted in behind her, wearing her the best uniform in the livery of the Vallière.

It seemed quite a few men were taken with Louise, but she rebuffed them gently. Finally, after half an hour, the young noble drifted out to the balcony.

"Being faithful to your betrothed, my lady?" Sheila asked from the shadows.

"Something like that. Viscount Wardes is a very important man at the palace," she replied softly.

"It sounds like you are still a bit torn as to your destiny. Perhaps something will come up to settle it for you," Sheila replied as she studied the moons. "I should be trying to find a way home, but I'm not aware of any way to pierce the dimensions between mortal worlds."

"I keep forgetting that you are not from this world. What do you see when you look at the moons?"

"I wonder what causes them to have a different color. Usually that is caused by the air of the world you inhabit, not the moons themselves. It is usually just white or off yellowish. But it appears your moons have their own air, unlike ours with has nothing but the void of space and the unrelenting sun beating down upon it. It is very unfriendly place to visit."

Louise laughed. "Silly. No spell can take you to the moons!"

"You might be possibly correct, my lady. But the citizens of my nation did not use magic. They used technology to do it. And even then, we have not been back in decades. It was too hard and cost too much."

"Too gloomy. We should head back inside," the strawberry-blonde said, taking her familiar's hand and tugging her.

Sheila managed a wan smile. "Milady, did you want to dance? I can allow you to have a small, chaste dance that will not affect your honor," she said with a small lie.

They wended their way through the crowd quietly to the dance floor. Sheila bowed at the waist elegantly, like a gentlemen from a drama.

A ballroom waltz started. All of the male teens watched in consternation as Louise danced intricately with the scion. They lamented the noble lady's grace, as their dance seemed to be on a whole different level, looking elegant to a degree that those beside them could not emulate as the pair danced.


	2. Royal Actions

Louise was to be awarded with the title of Cheveliar, which could only be earned by valorous deeds (in this case, Sheilas's deeds!) Kirche was quite upset at that, as now she had been 'out-done' by the Zero. That garnered a small laugh from Louise and her familiar.

For the last day, Sheila had been writing furiously about what she was calling Runic-Void after Louise successfully cast a very, very, very long-winded spell in regular Runic. Trying to convey negative and null concepts within the original language had been quite laborous. But her new variation had not figured out all the kinks.

"That's really very different," Derflinger from where he was carefully hung over the back of a chair. "Brimir never thought to change the language."

"You knew the Founder?" Louise asked in shock from where she was doing some school work.

"I did!" the sword said, sounding almost surprised.

"Interesting. That means us finding you is a Fate Binding. You have a very interesting future," Sheila noted aloud as she continued to work.

"Is that good?" Louise asked.

"If you survive, it can be," the scion replied ominously.

"Now you aren't a mage, that's obvious to see," Deflinger said from his hook. "But you definitely aren't normal either. Those runes aren't even being used."

"No, that is my own power," she replied conversationally. Wait? How did he know about the runes and them having any function? She eyed the sword more closely for a long moment. She flipped open another book to look up the ritual of familiar summoning.

"Fa- No, Sheila, why do you not say what you are in a straight foward manner?" Louise asked as she looked up from her papers. She was studying the uniformed girl closely.

Sheila shrugged. "It's not that I'm hiding what I am, but I... am not so vain as to trumpet it either."

"I think I deserve to know. It could make some of my decisions quite incorrect without that knowledge." Louise's self-confidence had actually been growing a little bit.

"I suppose you do. My name is Sheila Henderson, daughter of Athena Parthenos; Goddess of Wisdom, War and the City-State of Athens. I am granddaughter to Zeus, King of the Gods, King of Olympus and Sky God," she replied while putting a bookmark on the reference.

The only sound was of someone bumping into the door. Louise's eyes were comically wide.

Sheila looked over at that. "You have got to be kidding me." She walked over and opened the door in almost a blur. "Kirche. What exactly are you doing?"

"I, ah, just happened to be passing by and overheard that amazing thing," the red-head declared even as her salamander nodded its head frantically from where they were entangled on the ground in a pile.

Sheila grabbed both of them and dragged them inside. "I guess your fate depends on Louise."

"Damn sneaking, spying Zerbst!" Louise said as she hopped to her feet, her wand in her hand.

"You do not want to blow up your room, do you milady?" Sheila quickly interjected. "And like I said, it is not a secret, but rather something I do not seek to declare loudly and all the time. My ego does not need inflating."

The salamander was wriggling furiously until it was set back on the ground.

Kirche was just staring at Sheila in consternation. "So you really aren't a commoner. That prattle about citizens was nothing but smoke!"

"No, it was quite true. I was raised as a normal girl in my home land by my foster parents. That nation (and most nations where I come from) only have citizens. When I turned twelve, my mother came to me to tell me of a war among the gods that I was needed to help in. She unlocked the potential in my blood, leading me to take the path of adventurer and demigoddess." She started scritching Flame's head, causing the salamander to flop down and sigh in happiness. "Being a 'princess' of an immortal god-king is pretty silly. Grandfather has sat on his throne for nearly four thousand years without an heir."

"Wow, he's older than I am!" Derflinger exclaimed from his sheath on the chair. "I'm only eight hundred years old!"

"Um, okay?" she said as she looked at the sword in consternation.

Louise had continued to glare at her 'heriditary' enemy. "Well, try to not spread it all over the school. It could cause problems with the church."

Kirche frowned at that, but nodded. "Yes, they would not like that at all. And she doesn't seem to be a mean person at all. I mean Flame likes her, so that has to count for something." She could not wait to tell Tabitha.

* * *

Fouquet sat staring at the cold, uncaring ceiling of her prison cell. Genoa prison was a unfeeling thing of stone. Normally this would not mean anything to her. With a wand, stone and metal were her's to control. But there was nothing metal in her cell that was not part of the walls or bars, heavily warded to block escape. Despair filled her heart as she worried about her too terrible fate in the future. She had made many enemies with her robberies. Late at night, it was almost pitch black.

That was when she heard the sound of boots. Boots... and spurs. Something that the warden and his guards were not to wear, as they were not knights. Out of the darkness stepped a masked figure, the blank-white standing out against his forbidding black cloak.

"A visitor this late? And garbed so? Obviously not for a pleasant evening visit," Fouquet replied with a scathing tone.

After a very long pause (probably to give her time to stew in her worries) the male voice finally called out, "Are you Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth?"

"I have been called that." Fouquet pushed her lanky hair behind her ear.

"I am here with an offer that I suggest you take. There is a revolution against the people that killed your father and stole your lands."

_That_ got her attention.

The masked figure chuckled ominously from beyond the bars. "Yes, Matilda of Saxe-Gotha, we do know who you are. And considering you are here in this land, I think you have no love to the incompetent rulers of Albion. We are going to remove them and reform the Empire of Halkeginia."

"And to what purpose do you do that?" Matilda asked carefully.

"The Holy Crusade." The masked figure watched her for a long while. "Decide and come with me. Or face an unpleasant end."

"My lands?" she demanded. Matilda cared nothing for empires or holy crusades.

"Are open to negotiation. Depending on how well you fight against the Imperials. How did you get captured by a familiar?"

"She was different. Somehow in a dark night, she saw my identity and unmasked me in front of Old Osmond. She does not cast magic, but somehow can call down lightning. She defeated a student, ripping one of his metal golems to bits with her bare hands. Or so the rumors state. But I never saw her do anything but move fast and leap like a squirrel." The captured mage shrugged her shoulders.

"What is your decision?" the man said softly, his wand pointed at her through the bars.

"Of course I'll join. I would be a fool to throw away my chance to regain my lands." And she had no desire to die right then.

* * *

It was just a few days later when classes were dismissed as it was announced that the princess would be arriving later that day. Everything was flurry of preparation for her arrival. Floors and walls were scrubbed, while the grounds were groomed with magic.

Her unicorn-drawn coach was escorted by by the royal mage guards and a few gryphon riders. Sheila was standing at Louise's right hand, hands behind her back in parade rest stance. Students were all lined up in two rows facing each other across a red carpet, though only from the senior year.

Louise seemed to be watching one of the soldiers closely. He seemed to be a ranking officer of the Gryphon Knights going by the medallion on his breast. He was a handsome sort with a scruffy beard. His wand actually had a guard on it like a rapier would carry. His eyes met Louise's for only a moment before he returned to his duties.

A mage guard yelled out, "Her Royal Highness of the Kingdom of Tristain, Princess Henrietta has arrived," but it was a cardinal that stepped out first.

Sheila narrowed her eyes at that as Osmond stepped forward. That was a gross breach of just about every etiquette that she knew of. That got a rumble of disapproval from the students until the cardinal turned around to help the princess out.

Kirche muttered, "This is the princess? I am far more beautiful!"

Sheila just rolled her eyes at the tasteless antics. She did wonder at Tabitha just reading a book. That could be considered quite rude, even for a Cheveliar.

The princesses procession swept past them grandly into the main tower of the school.

"So, Derflinger, I think things are becoming more interesting," said to the sword at her hip.

"A princess! You don't see those every day, do you?" the sword replied with a lusty sigh.

* * *

Sheila watched Louise try to nervously hide her anxiety for the fifth time this evening. "Is there something wrong?" she asked worriedly. Why did she care so for the young, spoiled noble?

Louise ignored her utterly as she stared at the book on the table in front of her. She had been on the same page for over an hour.

She even ignored a poke, which was really starting to freak out Sheila. Was she beglamored?

That was when there was an oddly patterned knock at the door. Somehow _that_ got through to the strawberry-blonde when nothing else had and Louise rushed to the door.

On the other side stood a cloaked up figure wearing a veil.

Louise's breat seemed to catch in her throat. "You are-!"

"Shssh," the young seeming woman said, flicking some dust into the air.

"A silence spell? Then-"

"It is sad that I must take these steps, but there are eyes and ears everywhere," the stranger said quietly even as she seemed to check over the room carefully. "Who is this young man?"

"This is my _female_ familiar, Sheila Henderson," Louise quickly introduced even as she knelt in respect

"Your highness," Sheila said, bowing deeply at the waist.

"How could you tell?" the princess asked as she removed her veil. Her long, flowing dark hair spilled free.

"She has very discerning eyes," Louise admitted.

"My dear Valliere," the princess said in greeting as she reached down and hugged her old friend. "Please stand up. I come to you, so at least greet me like old friends."

The scion looked a bit surprised at that.

Louise smiled shyly. "It has been so long since we played in the gardens, hasn't it. Oh! I have such wonderful news. My familiar has figured out a bit of why I have such a hard time with magic, Henrietta!"

"How is that? I had not heard that you were having any problems?" the young princess exclaimed worriedly.

"My spells are usually quite explosive and I've only ever cast one spell that worked correctly," the shorter noble explained as she got to her feet with her childhood friend's help. "And that was to bind this familiar to me."

Sheila held up the back of her hand for proof of the spell.

"But you summoned a familiar... Ah, you summoned a person, which is not normal. So what is it?" Henrietta asked in genuine happiness for her friend.

"Sheila thinks I of the lost element; Void," the Zero admitted.

The princess gasped. "Truly? Like the Founder Brimir himself?" She sat on the edge of Louise's bed while Louise sat at her dresser chair.

"But it is very hard, as the spells of Void have been lost. So we have been making up new ones," Louise continued to explain.

"A hard path, but one that I'm sure that you will succeed at." The young princess seemed to withdraw into herself, sighing in deep melencholy.

"Henrietta? Is there a problem? Share your burden with your childhood friend so that it can become lighter," the strawberry blonde mage said, reaching out to clasp her hands upon her friends.

"I could not. It is my own fault, after all." The princess looked so very lost.

"A friend is one that you can trust to help you, your highness," the scion said softly. "With your friends at your side, the world is less dark and the possibilities of tomorrow are endless." She put a small nudge of her force of will, smiling to enhance the emboldening force of her charisma.

"Your familiar is very nice, Louise. You must not speak to anyone about what I am about to tell you now." She sighed again. "I have put my realm in danger. You heard I am betrothed to the Emperor of Germania?"

Louise almost screeched out her reply, causing Sheila to wince at the tone.

"Germania? Those barbarians?"

"It is to cement an alliance. I have long become accustomed to the thought that I will not marry for love. Tristain needs their strength, as Albion will soon fall to its rebels. We fear the first thing that will happen is that they will invade our land."

Sheila frowned at that. That did not make very good strategic sense.

Henrietta continued, her head bowed. "Albion seeks any way they can to stop this alliance. And they may have found it..."

"Please, tell me so that I can help," Louise declared.

"It is a letter that I wrote years ago. The rebels of Albion will send it to the imperial family of Germania. What is written there will shatter the alliance and Tristain will have to stand on its own against the rebels of Albion," Henrietta cried out in distress.

"Is it already in their hands? How could this have happened?" the strawberry-blonde asked in worry.

"No, not yet. But it will soon fall into their hands." Henrietta looked towards the dark windows. "It is in the hands of Prince Wales for now. Yet I fear he will soon fall into the enemy's hands. And when that happens, the letter that will shatter our alliance will do so too."

"Then you wish us to recover the letter from Prince Wales?" Sheila asked to make sure she had this clear.

"I could not ask my old friend to do such a dangerous thing from my actions. It will be dangerous going to Albion during their civil war," Henrietta explained.

"Of course I will. I have my familiar and my magic which is proving to be quite dangerous. Tell me what to do and it will happen."

"Let me pen a letter. They have been driven to the corner of Albion near Newcastle." Henrietta took the seat at the dresser to start writing.

Sheila suddenly flickered over to the door, flinging it open. "Guiche de Gramont. Peeping and spying are generally considered the actions of a cad." She picked up the noble by his ruffled shirt, dragging him in and closing the door. How had he gotten into that position? Why had she not heard him moving before now?

"But I just sought to meet the princess! I had no idea she was a good friend of Louise," the poppinjay protested. "A rose like me must be available for all! And I heard the said story! Princess Henrietta! Please accept this humble noble aid in your hour of distress!"

Henrietta looked confused, then worried and then finally... giggled. "Gramont? Are you related to the general?"

"He is my father! Command me and I will obey!" Guiche's toes reached vainly for the floor.

With a sigh, Sheila put him down. "You idiot."

"Then please do help this unfortunate one, Guiche de Gramont." The princess smiled sweetly at him.

That caused him to swoon and faint for joy and Sheila to roll her eyes.

Henrietta looked back to her letter, scribing quickly and neatly. "I should not... but I can not deny my heart. A final declaration then." She quickly finished penning her letter. "Louise, please take my mother's ring. It will guard you in this time of trials. If you need to, you can sell it to pay for your travels."

"We shall leave as soon as possible. You have my word," Louise promised.

"Your highness, a final favor?" Sheila asked the princess.

"If it will aid in this quest, anything I have," Henrietta promised.

"That silence powder? Whoever gave it to you obviously wanted you to use it to guard your secrets," the scion said as her analytical mind was snapping a puzzle together mentally.

"Ah, Lord Wardes gave it to me," the dark-haired girl said as she handed over the pouch of silence powder.

Sheila jabbed her toe in Guiche's side to wake him as the princess put on her veil and cloak.

Once Louise and Sheila were again alone, the scion turned to her. "Grab your cloak, milady. You did promise to leave as quickly as possible."

Louise looked confused. "We could not travel now, could we?"

Sheila just winked.

* * *

Louise was bleary looking the next morning as they left her room the next morning. Sheila had handed her a cup of tea and some biscuits for breakfast. The stablehands quickly had two horses ready before Guiche showed up. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sheila noted the knight from yesterday watching from a shadowy corner.

"Guiche, its good to see you here this morning," Sheila called out.

Louise nodded and waved slightly as she petted her horse's nose.

"Ah, fair ladies and welcome! The rose blooms early this morning!" Guiche had added a heavier travelling cloak. "I do have request, as I wish to bring along my familiar."

"As long as it does not slow us down, I don't think it should matter." Louise smiled at her horse.

Sheila was following Louise's example and petting her horse. This would make her seem more normal-like.

"Oh, my cute Belldandy will be fine! A mage must always have his familiar!" the poppinjay exclaimed joyfully.

"You have that huge mole, correct?" Sheila asked as the stablehands brought out another horse for him.

"Exactly! Come forth, Belldandy!" he called out to the ground. With only a small rumble, the giant mole appeared. "Oh, so cute!"

Louise and her familiar were very surprised, as the mole was the size of a pony or small horse.

"Isn't Albion a floating island? How is he going to get there?" the scion said with a decently straight face. Sheila had memorized a map of the different nations within the first few days of arriving here. Not knowing the area could have been a deadly mistake. The histories of the different wars had also been quite interesting.

"Oh, but I can not bear to be parted from Belldandy!" Guiche cried out over-emotionally.

Belldandy started snuffling over to Louise. Just before he could knock her over, strongs hand gripped around its neck.

"Whoa boy. No trampling milady." Sheila dug in her feet like she she was some sort of strange bull fighter.

"He is kind of cute," Louise said as she patted the giant mole on his head. "Oh, he likes the ring."

"Ah, yes. He's the best familiar that an Earth Mage could hope for. Always looking out for finding valuable beneath the earth," the pretty-boy replied with a suave smile.

That was when the mage guard that had hidden in the shadow stepped up. "Are you ready, my Louise? I was sent by her majesty to go on this important mission."

"Lord Wardes? You are to be my escort?" Louise asked in sudden tension.

"Of course. Would you introduce your companions?" Wardes gave off a whistle, summoning his gryphon to him. It swooped down out of the sky.

"This is my familiar, Sheila Henderson," she said shyly, then pointed to the other school mage. "And this is Guiche de Gramont."

Sheila seemed unphased by his handsome ruggedness, while Guiche could only gape at the epitome of all he strove for.

"Lord Wardes," Sheila said with a small bow of her head.

"Can you use that sword?" the bearded mage asked of the sword over her shoulder.

"Like I was born to wield it, milord," she replied in a soft voice. And it literally was the truth.

Wardes picked up Louis as if she were light as a feather. "Shall we be off?"

"My lord, this is unseemly," Louise said with a pleased blush.

His gryphon lowered itself down so that Wardes could sit himself and his fiancée upon the saddle. The moment they were settled, the monster scuffled back to its clawed and hoofed feet.

"I guess that is literally sweeping your lover off her feat," Sheila said with a bit of venom. Realizing what she was doing, she took a good hold of her feelings.

It would not do to become her grandfather, after all.

* * *

Henrietta sighed as she watched the quartet of heroes heading out on her business. "Brimir, grant them your mercy and protection," she said in a soft, heartfelt term. She turned to the old man at his desk. "Osmond, you are not going to see them off?"

"Nope, I'm sure they'll be fine with a great knight like Wardes with them," he said with a smile that you could barely make out through his beard. He was busy listening to his mouse that had appeared on his shoulder.

The door to the headmaster's office suddenly banged open. "Horrible news, Osmond! Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt has escaped!"

"You are always bringing me bad news, Professor Colbert," the old Square Mage complained. "Though this is serious. But not as bad as it could be. Her identity is now known."

"How did she escape?" Henrietta asked in sudden shock.

"A mage broke her out using wind magic when all the guards were here protecting the princess," Colbert said, suddenly realizing that the princess _was_ present. "My apologies, your highness."

"There is no problem, friend professor. You are merely doing your duty," she said with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Colbert." Osmond pet Chuchu as he sat in thought, feeling older than any man had a right to feel.

Colbert withdrew from the stone office with a deep bow to the princess.

Henrietta stared after her old friend. "Lord Osmond, I have a great favor to ask of you and your academy."

"Really? I would be honored by the request of such a pretty woman," the old man said through his massive mustache and beard with a large smile.

Henrietta walked to the door and opened it. "Please, come in."

A cloaked figure stepped in. "Princess, this is not safe."

"This is the best way. Osmond, may I ask that you take in this man and hide him?" Henrietta asked the headmaster.

"If I may see his face? I should be more than happy to do such a small favor-!" the old man's eyes opened comically wide as the man threw back his hood. "You? But how is this possible?"

Prince Wales nodded. "Yes. It surprised even me that I am here."

"But why did you send off young Louise then?" Osmond asked as he started to get a headache from all of the political actions going on.

"For an even more dangerous mission than the one I thought she was going on at first," Henrietta said softly. "She is my stalking horse, to discover the traitors within. Her familiar suggested it. I just hope they will be safe. I am so worried about her."

Osmond nodded as he thought it through. "Worry not too much, your highness. Young Louise's familiar is, we believe, a Gandalfr."

Henrietta's eyes widened at that. "Like Founder Brimir? That could explain her actions and powers. I am suddenly quite relieved."

"Come, you must tell me how this amazing meeting came to be," Osmond declared as he grabbed his ornate smoking pipe, starting to pack it with tobacco.

* * *

_The night before:_

_The wind whipped through their hair as Louise clutched her heavy traveling cloak about herself tighter. Sheila was carrying her through the air, the two moons high in the night sky as the forest turned below them. The glitter of the ocean was already appearing on the horizon through the clouds below them, but too far away for the smell of salt to reach them yet._

_"So, Louise? Could you explain how silence powder works? And maybe why it quit working?" Sheila asked as she guided the wind that carried them through the air at her best speeds. They should only be an hour or so from Newcastle at this rate._

_"It's actually a regent for the silence spell." The strawberry-blonde narrowed her eyes in thought. "It must be a bit old. Usually it either just doesn't work or it works perfectly, though I have heard where it just works for a much shorter duration."_

_"Hmm." She could just be being paranoid, but if it worked for a short while, you might not hear someone creeping up in range to hear when it wore off. "You should probably rest, milady. I believe I can find Newcastle by myself."_

_Louise nodded sleepily._

_It seemed like only a moment later that they were floating before a castle wall. Sheila's keen eyes had easily spotted the structure from high up in the air under the twin moons._

_"Ho, the castle! We are visitors that seek Prince Wales," Sheila called out from forty feet out. "May I land on the walls?"_

_"Stay there!" shouted a guard._

_In moments the guards returned with an imposing, though sad looking, young noble. He had his wand out. "I am Prince Wales. Speak clearly your intent."_

_Louise rubbed her eyes like a little girl awakening. "Oh! You are Prince Wales. I come bearing a letter for your eyes only from Princess Henrietta."_

_"You must have had an arduous journey to get here," the Tudor prince said._

_"I wish it could have been faster," Sheila replied calmly. "Milady, you are shivering. We should get you inside."_

_The blond-haired prince looked upset. "Please, forgive my impertinence. Ah, you have the princesses' ring." He held up his own ring, allowing a sparkling rainbow to appear between them. "You are truly who you say you are. Please, come inside out of the wind."_

_It was not a long walk behind him to enter into his private offices._

_"For you, Prince Wales," Louise said with a deep bow. She then handed over the letter._

_He quietly read by the dim lamplight. "Ah, Henrietta. My dear cousin." He looked so sad._

_"So just a love letter?" Sheila asked impertinently._

_"You surmised that, I take it? Yes, a vow upon Holy Founder Brimir, just like a wedding vow," Wales explained with a sad sigh._

_"Certainly you could flee to Tristain," Louise blurted out. "The princess would not want you to die."_

_"I assure you, there is nothing in that letter about asking me to flee to her country. I am a noble and I do not lie," Wales said with a perfectly straight face. "This nation is near its end. In a few more days, our last 500 soldiers will face their thousands."_

_"You lie quite convincingly, your highness, but I know for a fact that she pleads with you to save your life. And as she is my mage's liege, I would ask that you reconsider," the scion said._

_"It is impossible," he said as he stood up. "How did you read that?"_

_"I heard the false echo in your voice, one of my many skills. So this is the false bravery of Albion? To throw your duty on the sword of your enemy?" Sheila replied in a hard way._

_"What do you mean? Are you saying that fleeing into the night is a harder than staying and dying?" the young noble demanded._

_"So you would give up after one failure? Let your lands fall without taking every chance? Or is it just easier to fall on your sword?" Sheila countered. "Are you too afraid of living in defeat to admit that you must try again another day?"_

_"It is the cowards way," he replied. _

_"But it is the harder path, Prince Wales Tudor. To not give in fully, to go to another land in exile until you can gain enough strength to recover your lands. You can become a symbol that Albion has not fully given in... that you still fight against traitors and backstabbers!" Sheila declared, lending weight with her legend to her words, unleashing her force of personality upon him._

_"Listen to my familiar, Prince Wales Tudor! To give up at this point means giving up on Princess Henrietta also! And she has not given up on you. She believes in you!" Louise called out, tears steaming down her cheeks._

_Wales wavered under their arguments. "But I can not decide this on my own-" he started to say._

_"No, but you can follow the last command of your father," an old man in sleeping clothes said at the door. "They are right. This path will be harder, but it is the path I need my most brave son to take," the aged king of Albion declared in his wheezing voice. "Take your men to Tristain and raise up an army to take back the lands of your ancestors. I alone will await here for the Reconquistidor to arrive to spit in their faces. And you will avenge me, my son."_

_"Father!" Wales was suddenly torn. He suddenly fell to his knees. "I will do this, I swear. The blood of the Tudor will sit upon our throne."_

_"Rise, Prince in Exile Wales Tudor," his father commanded._

_"Sheila! Can you carry the prince with us?" Louise called out._

_"Of course, milady. Come with us this night and we shall take you back to the princess within the hour."_

_"Within the hour?" he exclaimed. "Certainly that is not possible." He stood up easily._

_"For my familiar, it is possible," the strawberry-blonde mage exclaimed excitedly._

* * *

The trip to La Rochelle a grueling affair for their horses and for poor Guiche. Sheila was not tired, but had kept an eye out on Louise, who was napping out in Wardes clutches. Sheila had to stifle a burst of jealousy about that. Ahead of them, they were passing through a canyon during the night.

That was when she heard voices from the top of the cliffs.

_"Ready your bows,"_ a voice said.

_"Once wee can see them by the light of the torches, we'll kill the two on horseback no problem," _another voice replied.

"Guiche! Hide beneath the earth! We are being ambushed!" Sheila snapped out in uncompromising orders. She, herself, was off the back of her tired mount and almost running up the wall in a blur under the eclipsing moons.

Torches rained down upon the horses, but to their shock all the archers saw was a wall of earth turning into a dome.

Wardes' eyes had widened at that as he saw runes glowing on Sheila's hand as she had pulled Derflinger.

"Yes, partner! What a rush!" the sword yelled out as he was slashed around, snapping bowstrings and cutting legs.

The viscount had his wand out suddenly, casting a spell that sent the remainder of the attackers flinging away just as a wind dragon swooped out of the sky with a roar.

"We surrender! Don't kill us!" the last bandit shouted. "Damn all nobles to hell!"

"A wind dragon? Then that is Tabitha? And-" Louise squinted at this in the low moonlight. "Kirche? What are you doing here?"

The griffon landed, letting its two passengers down now that the battle was over.

"Not to help you! I saw you rush off this morning, so I awoke Tabitha to follow. It's a good thing we did, otherwise you might have died in that ambush," the Germanian noble declared. "I must prove that I am at _least_ as good as the Zero!"

"We are on a secret mission-mumph?" Louise called out before a hand slapped itself over her mouth.

"Louise... You should not mention such things to those not involved. Not even slyly," Sheila said. She leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "You should never mention you are on a secret mission to those not involved."

"Oh, that does make sense," the girl said.

"Well, I must come along! This sounds like a grand adventure. What do you think, Tabitha?" Kirche asked as she flung her red hair over her shoulders with a flick of her wrist.

"We are here," the quiet mage said, looking quite adorable in her sleeping clothes.

That was when Guiche had caught up. His familiar had burrowed him up to the top of the cliff quite quickly. "Why did you attack us?" he demanded of the one of the groaning bandits.

"We thought you would have money," he lied convincingly.

Sheila just nodded to herself.

Kirche sauntered over to Wardes, trailing a hand down his shoulder. "Such a handsome man you are traveling with, Louise."

His hand reached out a took her offending limb in a too-tight grip. "Please do not approach so closely in the future. Louise, we should continue into the city. We are almost there," Wardes called out. "These men are useless and cowed now."

It did not take them long at all to arrive at the finest inn of the city. Wardes paid for the rooms for the night.

"I have purchased three rooms." He nodded to Guiche, Sheila and the new girls. "You four can split up two rooms, while I and Louise take the last room."

Sheila glared at him flatly. "I am Louise's chaparone during this trip. It would be unseemly for a young maiden to share the room before marriage. It is my duty to protect her reputation, Viscount Wardes. It would be best for you to share a room with Guiche de Gramont."

"We are betrothed... but I see where you are coming from. Does this meet your expectation, milord Gramont?" the warrior noble asked.

"Of course! I would be honored to share a room with such a revered figure of the court." The foppish noble looked ready to swoon again.

Tabitha and Kirche just nodded, as even they were tired. Everyone trudged off to their room. They were whispering about the sudden revelation of Louise's marital status.

Sheila helped the very tired Louise to her bed and then slipped out of the room. It was only a moment later that a masked Wardes slipped out the back of the fancy inn. He moved through the alley ways, watching carefully and listening for anyone following.

He never looked up, though, to see a silent shadow that always stayed in his blind spot. Looking back and forth, he entered into bar in a bad section of town.

Sheila landed by the door to lean up against the wall to listen. She melded into the shadows with reflexive ease.

_"Matilda, your mercenaries were pathetic,"_ Wardes said, his voice muffled by the white mask. _"Though it may be because that familiar is more dangerous than expected."_

_"In what way? She attacked me unprepared. I'm sure I could defeat her easily._" Matilda's voice was a perfect match for Fouquet's, much to Sheila's surprise. So was that her real name?

_"Contact Baron Verciere. He should be able to loan you some replacement henchmen. The ones we hired last night are mostly useless from their wounds. You'll have to attack yourself. This should allow me to convince Louise to leave them behind. It is so vexing that so many of her school mates are here."_

Sheila's eyes narrowed as she saw another masked figure move into position to watch the bar's door. By his cold, unforgiving eyes that she could see through his mask, it was Wardes. How as that possible? It would be tricky to slip out with him watching, but not impossible. She broke off a piece of the door-frame quietly, then threw it with superhuman strength down the road to hit a wall with a deafening retort. When his eye turned to the left where the noise had come from, she flickered over into a shadowed alleyway and out of sight.

From the air near the doorway, another masked figure appeared, looking in consternation at a shadow that had moved on its own. Wardes was suddenly less sure that he had not been followed. Who or what had that been. With another wave of his wand, he disappeared into a mirage of distorted air.

The young scion frowned as she quickly headed back to the inn. It appeared Wardes was the traitor as she expected _and_ was also more dangerous than she expected. She knew her uncle Hermes could co-locate himself to multiple bodies, but that was an ability that she could not even attempt.

Slipping into Louise's room, she breathed a sigh of relief seeing her sleeping peacefully. It was time to write a coded message that only Louise would be able to read. Then she wrote yet another message.

It did not take long to spot an owl in the night. After talking to one, she convinced it to travel to Tristain's castle with a missive in Louise's name.

* * *

Guiche sighed as he ate his early morning breakfast. "Ah, Kirche, it is pleasant to see you this morning."

Kirche nodded. "It appears they offer a decent breakfast here, as to be expected from such a fine establishment." She gently nudged Tabitha to sit down.

That girl was still in her pyjamas from yesterday, as she had no other clothing. She did appear to have a different book to read. Sitting down she started to nibble on her food while continuing to read.

The door opened, admitting Louise and Wardes with someone behind them holding some boxes.

"Eh? You were already up?" Guiche asked in shock.

"Yes, we went out to check on any ships in port and to pick up some items. Tabitha, we got you some simple clothes," Louise said with a smile at the quiet girl. "Sheila might have to modify them to fit you a bit."

"Thank you," the quiet girl replied.

"Unfortunately, it appears that the ship to Albion will not be leaving until tomorrow morning, as that is when the conjunction of the moons will bring Albion closest to La Rochelle," Wardes said simply.

Sheila set the packages down.

"Sheila, perhaps we could spar this morning? My blood burns to try to fight against a legendary familiar known as the Gandalfr," the mage knight said.

"What?" Kirche and Guiche cried out. The redhead continued with, "She's a legendary familiar like that?"

"Is that what these runes mean? No one ever tells me anything," Sheila said as she looked at the back of her hand. "Certainly. Louise, would you like to watch?"

Wardes led the way outside to a shadowed courtyard, followed quickly by the rest of the mages, even Tabitha. Though she at least added a cloak from the boxes that Sheila had brought.

Wardes pulled out his wand and took a stance.

That actually got a raised eyebrow from Sheila as she drew Derflinger and slipped into sword-down side-stance. That got Wardes to adjust his stance slightly. At some unstated signal, they both took off across the ground, lashing out with their weapons. Sheila blinked in surprise as the small and breakable looking wand blocked Derflinger quite handily.

"That's different," she noted aloud.

"Such skill! Such speed! I am in the presence of greatness!" Guiche declared grandly as they seemed to shoot across the ground at high speeds.

Tabitha actually put her book down and frowned slightly. Her eyes were studying the movement.

"I'm very glad I did not accept her duel," Kirche said in shock. "This is amazing."

The Gryphon Knight managed to finish chanting a spell as they dueled, striking out with a hammer made of air. Derflinger flew through the air.

"Oh no, partner!" he yelled out as he clattered to the ground.

Sheila threw out her hand, lightning arcing through the air. She feigned suprise at seeing her lightning bolt redirected into the ground. "You grounded the lightning bolt?"

Wardes just smirked as he took the offensive, but after six slashes and jabs had come no sooner to striking her. "You truly are as fast as the wind. I am lucky I disarmed you." He finished another quick chant, sending out a slah of wind that she almost dodged, but cut open her tunic and cut a small gash in her abdomen.

She gasped at that. "I think you win this... spar, milord."

"Sheila, are you all right?" Louise cried out in worry.

"I'll live after being bandaged, I think," she said, smearing the blood around slightly.

Wardes shook his head. "I thought for a moment that I had gone too far. That can kill the weak and unready. My apologies to your familiar, Louise."

"She's tough. I'm sure she'll be fine," Louise boasted. "Let us get your bandaged up and then we can practice my spells some more."

"Louise, Louise... Louise," Kirche said with a sad shake of her head. "You know your spells only cause explosions."

"That's not true, Kirche. We've been figuring out how to teleport a small object. Though we have not gotten very far with it not reappearing correctly," Sheila countered for her mage as she picked up Derflinger. "Sorry, Derflinger."

"Teleporting? What element is that," Wardes asked carefully.

Louise looked at her familiar who nodded slightly. "We believe it is Void, my Wardes."

"Eh?" Kirche and Guiche exclaimed. "Like the Founder?" It was quite cute how alike they sounded.

Tabitha was actually staring at Louise in shared shock with her classmates, though silent as normal.

"That is quite the boast to make," Wardes said as his cold eyes studied her closely.

"It's the only thing that seems to match why she has so many problems using the regular elements, milords and ladies," the scion said as she very carefully studied them. Wardes was not shocked at all, but his eyes seemed to have a cold hunger. That did not bode well.

* * *

Sheila didn't have to 'pretend' too hard to be upset at losing to Wardes, so continued to work during the day with Louise on her Void magic. She even fit in some time to fit Tabitha with the dress and blouse.

It was evening when she heard bowstrings being strung down the street. With casual seeming gestures she had Louise follow her back inside just before arrows started to rain from the sky. That started everyone scrambling for better cover.

With a grinding rumble, a massive golem figure erupted from the ground.

"That's too like Fouquet's golem," Sheila muttered as she looked over her shoulder.

"Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt? So has she joined Albion's nobles in their rebellion?" Kirche asked as she peeked around a window to the outside. They were too far for her to fireball.

Sheila called down a crackling bolt of lightning from the sky, incinerating an archer with a good vantage point. She frowned, as she realized she did not have the will and power to defeat them all on her own with her Levin's Fury.

"The mission is the most important matter," Wardes declared in a hard voice. "Louise must get the letter to its intended recipient no matter the cost. Cheveliar Tabitha, do you think you can stop these bandits?"

"No," the pale-haired girl replied instantly. "Need help."

"You do not even have to ask, Tabitha. I'm here at your side as you good friend," Kirche declared as she finished pulling her wand out of her bosom.

"Guiche de Gramont, they will need your aid. Sheila-" Wardes started to order.

"I have to say with my mage, milord. The Gandalfr runes are all about fighting for her," Sheila declared in a flat voice. She saw a flicker of anger at having his will being thwarted.

"It is as you say. We will go out the back then. Fight well and defeat your foes," the gryphon knight declared as he led Louise by hand through the shattered opulence of the dining area and back out the impressive kitchen of the Golden Wine Barrel Bar. That would be the last time any of them would see of the inn.

The three of them quickly trotted down a road and out of town. Up ahead loomed a massive tree of skyscraper proportions. Through open doors they trotted, following signs through the transportation 'air-station', quickly following the signs that led to the Albion dock out on a massive branch. They ended back up outside, on stairs carved from the tree itself, with rickety railings to keep them from falling into the darkness below.

That was when their masked follower attempted to make his move, only to be intercepted before he could leap over Sheila and grab Louise. Derflinger was in her hands, crashing against a quickly raised staff made of black wood.

"Beware, an enemy," Sheila called out theatrically.

"You must have eyes in the back of your head," Wardes said admiringly. He quickly chanted a spell, sending another hammer made of air at his foe, but it lithely ducked the attack.

Suddenly, the air started to chill even as the smell of ionization swept through the area. "He's casting some form of lightning!" she shouted.

"Block the attack!" Derflinger shouted out in worry, even as tracers of flickering lightning appeared.

With a crash of thunder, the cloud of lightning bolts struck true. Letting them hit her took an act of will, but Sheila was determined to convince Wardes that she was in fact far weaker than she was. Stoically, she ignored the burns across her arms and thigh. With a quiet shout, she charged swung her sword stabbing deep within the masked attacker's chest. He fell into the darkness of the night and disappeared.

"Sheila! Oh, no!" Louise called out.

"I'll live, but we need to continue," the bedraggled girl said with her back to them. She closed her eyes and visualized fake burns covering more of her body, amplifying how badly hurt she looked. Turning back she walked unsteadily forward.

"That spell normally kills. It appears your sword must have blocked some of its power. Isn't it metal?" Wardes asked warily.

"I forget," Derflinger replied in a too easy manner, getting a raised eyebrow from Sheila.

"An intelligent sword? How rare," the gryphon knight murmured.

"That's our ship, right? Let's float up there," the scion said as she looked at her lying sword. She had heard from Louise that mages used their will during their magic. In some ways, she was no different, though it was usually only with the larger and more useful powers of her own. Sheila was actually starting to hit the end of her own will, but she was always up for a challenge.

She floated into the air, following behind Wardes who was leading the way with his levitation. She put a bit of effort into floating slightly erratically, until they landed.

"Who goes there?" yelled a sailor who was only half dressed for bed.

"Summon your captain. We must be off immediately!" Wardes said with his hand on his wand under his cloak, keeping his free hand around Louise.

"The captain's asleep! Come back in the morning!" the tired sailor replied in a surly tone.

Warde's wand made a quick appearance. "We have need to leave immediately. Summon your captain... or else."

"A-a-a w-wand? Please forgive noble one!" He disappeared very quickly, dragging out the captain of the ship who was in a nightgown.

"What is the meaning of this. Um, oh honored noble?" the mustachioed captain asked in hidden aggravation.

"You travel to Albion, correct?" Wardes demanded, his wand still very evident.

"In the morning, when Albion is closest, that is correct," the older man replied.

"We must depart forthwith."

The captain hesitated. "That's unfortunately not possible, my lord." He grimaced as he realized he would have to explain. "We don't have enough windstones to lift us that far."

"I am a powerful wind mage. I will make up any difference with my own spells," Wardes declared.

Sheila narrowed her eyes. It appeared this captain was running on the ragged end of his operation.

* * *

The trip to the port of Sunderland was relatively quiet. The Albion rebels were fully in charge and encamped just outside in massive camps. The Reconquistidor were preparing for their last battle against the Albion nobility.

"Louise, stay here in this inn," Wardes declared, pointing to a slightly shabby inn with a blue rose on its sign, "until I return. I am going to try and get us passage through the war zone before the attack. It appears our timing is as close as it could be."

He tossed a small bag of gold to Sheila.

"Of course, my Wardes," Louise said in a worried tone.

They sat down at a table and ordered a quick, simple breakfast as Sheila watched the doorway carefully. They talked the theory of magic, as Sheila had Louise brandish her wand. That had the desired effect, as the people of the inn were suddenly much more cautious around them.

Wardes had cloaked himself up and put on his mask as he approached the castle here.

"Halt! Who goes there?" called out a guard who stared at the imposing visage.

Wardes pulled out an amulet. "I seek an audience with his grace, the Bishop Cromwell."

The guard had to call his captain, but upon seeing the medallion, he was quick brought to the bishop's quarters.

The frocked man looked up from his papers. "Wardes, this is a surprise? What brings you to Albion at this time? You are supposed to be feeling out the nobles that will support us when we move on Tristain." He stood up, a small scowl on his face.

"I almost have in my hands a letter that will spell the destruction of the alliance between Tristain and Germania. But I have to play the part of a loyal knight to that simpering fool of a princess. She is so lovestruck that she's endangered her whole kingdom." Wardes curled his lips in disdain. "Such a princess doesn't deserve to live."

"Very well. What are you going to do?" Cromwell asked as he watched the too-pretty knight through almost closed eyes.

"Recover the letter. Possibly kill Prince Wales. And bind Louise de la Valliere to me in marriage at the soonest," he replied simply.

"Why is marrying that school girl on the same import as the first two actions?" Cromwell asked cautiously.

"Her familiar bears the mark of Gandalfr _and_ survived my Lightning Cloud spell. Louise even thinks she might be a mage of the element of Void. And if she does have a Gandalfr... she _may_ be correct. The stories all mention that Gandalfr was the Founder's most powerful familiar." Wardes' eyes glittered in a dark hunger. He would break the petite girl to his will.

"Another Void user?" The bishop's eyes narrowed at that. "Bring her to me and I shall see. Perhaps she might have some information that might aid me."

"Another?" the Gryphon Knight said as he nodded, his suspicion confirmed.

"Bring her to me when Prince Wales is dead, Captain of the Gryphon Knights. Dead or alive, I can use them."

"Of course, Bishop Cromwell. But for our plans to proceed, I need to remove the presence of the Gandalfr. She is actively meddling in our affairs and is far too dangerous," Wardes explained with a very cold and hard glint in his eyes.

* * *

Sheila sat upon her horse with ease, keeping an eye for Wardes as she rode next to Louise down a forested trail. He claimed he was off scouting a safe path through the army, but her keen ears heard a whisper as he talked to someone, though she could not make out any words. Probably more soldiers for another ambush.

It was safe to say that Sheila was not Wardes friend at this point. This would be his fourth attempt on her life.

"So, Louise? Try to act surprised when we are ambushed by some of the rebels. They will probably try to take me down somehow. Whatever you do, don't lose your own horse no matter what," Sheila said in a soft voice as the horses clopped-clopped along.

"So you really do think he has been attempting to kill you?" the strawberry-blonde asked in a worried voice.

"At least three time, I believe. But hopefully I've managed to make him underestimate me," she said with a grin through her (false) ragged appearence from the Lightning Cloud wounds. "So, that scent of incense off of Cardinal Mazarin... is that very common?"

The mage looked a bit confused at the strange question. "No, it's fairly expensive. Generally only high ranking priests of the church can afford it. And unless you are putting on airs of piety, most nobles do not use that incense. It is generally easier to use perfumes to mask your odor."

Sheila shuddered a little bit. "At least I've got you convinced that regular baths are not bad." She seemed to think a long moment. "So do you know the ranking priest of the church among the nobles in rebellion?"

Louise squinted her eyes as she thought in deep thought. "I think the highest ranking churchman of the parliament is a Bishop. Cromwell? I think I met him at an important party a few years ago in the capital."

She gave her mage a brilliant smile. "Thank you."

Wardes returned ten minutes later on his black horse with three white socks. "We will have to ride hard. I think I know the path, so I will lead. Louise, keep close. The rebels have some soldiers nearby. We may have to gallop."

Louise nodded, looking a bit pale. These stories always sounded much more glamorous in the telling. This was just more scary than anything else.

They were coming up to a bend when row of archers stood up and fired. It really looked like they were trying to kill them all, but Wardes only blocked the ones coming at him and Louise (a little clumsily and ham-handed there!) while the poor roan-colored horse that Sheila had been riding died squealing as arrows punctured its torso.

Sheila was already moving as Wardes galloped off with Louise behind him, fleeing farther along into the forest. Derflinger was in her hand, her runes aglow in soft power as she dodged through a hail of arrows. Her hand moved instantly, Derflinger shattering an arrow that actually curved after her much to her surprise.

That would have been a nasty surprise if it had hit, as the arrow had been coated in a black sheen of some sort. Probably a deathly poison. "Thanks, Derflinger. Poisoned arrows." She was easily keeping pace with the two galloping horses.

"No problem, partner!" the sword said happily.

Wardes' eyes hardened slightly as he saw the girl still following behind them, making great loping strides that impossibly kept up with the horses as they ran at a full gallop.

The white, stone walls of Newcastle appeared quickly as Sheila overtook them. "I'm going ahead," she called out as she dashed down the hill to its drawbridge, easily outdistancing their horses.

"Didn't she need a horse?" Wardes asked in confusion. Things were spiraling out of control, his standing unsteady on shifting ground.

The two mages saw her talking to a man at the smaller entrance of the gate and stepped inside. The ancient looking butler waited for them with easy and practiced patience.

"Well met. The girl Sheila said you are here to see Prince Wales on an issue of great urgency?" the stooped over figure said. "Please, come in and be welcome in Newcastle."

Wardes frowned, but nodded. "It is as she said."

"She asked for a surgeon, so I sent her with a page. Please, follow me to a sitting room," the butler called out. He dropped a bar to close the door behind them and showed them where to tie off their horses. The castle was eeriely silent, with only the butler to lead them further in to the living area of the fortress.

"So this is the strength of the prince of Albion?" Wardes said in consternation. Where were the soldiers of House of Tudor?

"They are preparing for the last attack," the butler said, opening a door to a large sitting room. He poured them a drink of famed Albion wine from a chilled bottle.

"Ah, a great vintage. At least Prince Wales knows how to entertain," the Gryhpon Knight said with a suave smile, then sipped from the glass. "We should have this for our wedding evening, my dear Louise."

"I have not agreed to that at this time," she protested. In fact, with Sheila's letter of warning, she was very alarmed by his advances.

"Come now," a false-deep voice said from the doorway. A cloaked up figure wore the ruffled finery a noble with blue-ish eyes under his blond hair. His cloak covered most of his body, but his visible hand was looped on his waist. "Be off Albert, the king is expecting you."

The old servant bowed a little deeper and then left in a slow hobble

Wardes frowned, then sighed. "So this is how it plays. A decoy, how droll."

"Ah, the dog of Cromwell comes to kill the prince and is upset that he is prepared for?" the stranger said in a sardonic tone.

Wardes tried to hide his surprise even as he drew his wand. "You knew even that? Yet it does not matter, the knowledge dies here with you you. At least you die in a good cause for your lord," the traitor declared.

"Wardes! What are you doing?" Louise shouted as she stepped back away, reaching for her own wand.

He had already snapped out his trade-marked air hammer even as the false-prince started to dodge. The cloak swirled behind the blond as the target disappeared in a blur to appear next to Louise, Derflinger in her hand.

"Well, traitor, it appears your part has been played," Sheila said as her features seemed to suddenly fall back into her normal and fully healed appearance as she shrunk five inches, leaving the finery to hang loosely on her frame. "I need to work on my shapeshifting ability."

"Let's do this partner! No holding back!" the sword cried out happily.

Wardes frowned. "You! What does it take to kill you?" he snarled.

"More than you have already tried several times. Come, traitor Wardes. Already the Princesses' noose tightens around your and your conspirators. You are the last loose end to be tied up," she said in a cold tone.

With a softly chanted spell and a wave of his wand, masked figures appeared around Sheila and Louise. "You won't be able to survive all of my clones," he called out with a smirk. "Hmm. You do not seem surprised to seem them. I do apologize, Louise, but it appears I will have to deliver your dead body to my master."

The air chilled again as the scent of ionized air filled the room. Louise screamed as she realized that they were about to be hit by the Lightning Cloud spell that had nearly killed Sheila earlier.

With a spark, lightning shot out from every clone only to be caught in one petite hand. A hand that held the bolt of lightning as if it were a spear, not a crackling bolt that could slay monsters. With a snap of her fingers, she discharged the bolt into the air with a flash of light. "Strangely, lightning doesn't really affect me when I don't want it to." In a flicker, she stabed two of the clones, dispersing the wind they were created from. "Louise, a grenade-level explosion." She pulled a pistol out of thin air with her free hand.

"Omegusa, Omegagk na Fleurtes!" The shorter girl called out as she waved her wand.

Wardes frowned even as he and his clones sent out hammer-like strikes of air at them both. His eyes narrowed as Derflinger chopped two of the spells in twain (Oooh, yeah! I can block spells! I forgot that, Derflinger the sword shouted), Sheila dodged two and then _took_ two of the hits that would have struck Louise.

His eyes opened in shock as Louise chanted three _strange_ runec-names and pointed the spell at the ground between two clones. With a deafening boom, they (and five feet of the floor) were vaporized as Sheila interposed her body to block the stone shrapnel from the floor hitting Louise.

"What was that?" the Gryphon Knight snarled. "I did not even recognize those runic commands!"

Her custom 10mm pistol roared for the first time, firing two shots that hit each clone in the forehead, dispersing them instantly. "We do not give our enemies our secrets."

"You aren't human. I'm one of the greatest duelists of Tristain and even I can't face off against that many of my clones," Wardes said, his cold eyes showing a hint of fear.

"As my familiar said, we do not give our secrets away to our enemies," Louise declared, her reddish-brown eyes hard in pain.

He dodged and parried two swings, instantly realizing that Sheila was not going for killing attacks upon him. She was trying to capture him! He quickly got into the rhythm of spell-dueling. His next wind spell was quite a bit bigger, sending a slash that would cover the area with Sheila and Louise within it.

Sheila again moved to intercept the blow with sword and body, ripping her ruffled shirt, but blocking almost all of the damage from getting to Louise.

With a frown, he realized that she was only lightly bruised from the attack. Wardes then stood up taller, his wand moving as he chanted. "It appears it is time to leave-"

Between one blink of an eye and another, Sheila just appeared in front of him between one second an another. With a snap, his wand was chopped in twain with her sword even as she then punched him in the stomach with the hand around her gun, folding him in half. As he tried collapse to the ground, her other fist lashed out to smash his jaw and him into unconsciousness with the pommel.

"Good job, my familiar," Louise said in pride. She was not useless! She had defeated two of the clones herself, after all!

Sheila nodded, strangely feeling very happy for the praise. "Thanks." She started to rifle through his clothes, pulling out a pouch of gold, a mask, a ring and the medallion.

The ground rumbled as cannons fired in the distance.

"The attack has started?" Louise said sadly.

That was when a very large mole's head popped up out of the ground.

Sheila sighed. "Waiting for the actual attack to come and rescue us?" she asked.

"Kirche said you wouldn't figure it out!" Guiche called out. "You knew immediately!" He bemoaned his lack of luck.

"The timing was suspicious," Louise declared in quick wit. "We should leave immediately. The castle is under attack and will fall momentarily."

They all fell through the hole that Belldandy had carved in ancient Albion, all the way through and to the bottom. The wind-dragon Sylphid caught them all easily, even the poor, giant mole that mewled pathetically at being carried in it mouth.

* * *

The old man sat on the balcony overlooking the great cliffs over the edge of Albion under the smoke drenched sky as ash fell from the fires of his last home. His butler Albert stood at his side, pouring a last glass of wine.

Soldiers entered the room, swords drawn. "Go tell his holiness what we've found." Their unfriendly eyes watched the ancient man as he drank his last.

Soon the Bishop Oliver Cromwell appeared at the door, the men in their armor backing away from him.

"I expected to see you son leading a foolish charge to die on my men's swords," the man of cloth said.

"I sent him away in my last lucid moment," King Varvin the Mad called out. "I heard a voice telling him of a harder duty, to live and take back my throne. And I saw that it was better that my last son not die here. He still lives and your bony ass can not rest comfortably on my throne while he live! Hahahahah!"

"Foolish old man. You can not stay my hand," Cromwell called out, anger in his voice. "You will still serve Albion."

"As one of your strange changlings? Fie up you!" Varvin shouted as he leaped to his feet. "My mind might have abandoned me so that I could not save my country, but I spit in your face! You have to have my body to parade in Londonium!" He had his gnarled fist curled around his old walking stick. With a single chanted rune, the cane exploded in with power, killing him and his last servant.

His body tumbled through the air off the shattered balcony, disappearing into the mists before over the angry exclamation of the bishop.

Cromwell had his fists curled up in fury at his side.

A woman whistled softly from behind him. "Guess the old geezer wasn't quite as worthless as I thought," Matilda said with a smirk on her face. "So now what are you going to do?"

"There is more than one way to skin a cat. If I can not use the king, I will use the servant. Behold, Matilda of Saxe-Gotha, the power of the magic of Void." A blinding light erupted on the fallen, frail form of Albert the butler.

"What? Truly?" the thief exclaimed in shock.

Albert stood up on unsteady legs. He bowed carefully to the bishop.

"Fouquet, find me Prince Wales. I need to reunite him with his father's old servant."

"Yes, your holiness," she replied with alacrity.

"It should be Cromwell the First, Emperor of Albion and soon Halkeginia. But my claim... to be denied because that prince grew some sense!" the bishop exclaimed angrily.


	3. Girded for War

Sylphid swooped through the air, easily carrying the six humans on her back and the giant mole in her mouth. Sheila shaded her eyes to glance down as the trotting men in uniform that seemed quite agitated.

"They are saying that the airspace over the palace is closed and are wondering why we are invading it," Sheila called out as she read their lips.

Tabitha just nodded her head, directing her familiar that called out a reply in its draconic; "Of course, mistress!"

Louise noted Sheila's eyes widening in surprise at something. "Are we under attack?" she asked worriedly as she looked around as the dragon landed down the road from the palace, scattering peasants in a panic.

"Ah, no. I just found out something that _should_ have been obvious," the scion responded as she hopped off the dragon while still carrying the comatose form of the Gryphone Knight Captain Wardes. "Ho, the guards!"

"What were you doing?" the mage knights called out as he trotted towards them. The mage had his wand out, but not pointed directly at them. "And what are you doing with Viscount Wardes?"

"We bear a missive to the princess herself. Wardes is a traitor, captured by my familiar and I in combat," Louise explained, her own wand out.

"What? The captain a traitor? Who are you?" the leader of the knights called out.

"I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, third daughter of Duke Valliere, returning from an important mission from the princess. Escort us to the palace immediately," the smallest girl said in a commanding voice.

The captain of the guard nodded slowly. "Lower your wands. You will be escorted to the gates while a runner speaks to the princess."

The very odd procession traveled down the road and waited at the gates. Surprisingly, it was Princess Henrietta herself that showed up, holding up her gown's length off the dirt as she ran towards them with two dozen soldiers.

"Louise!" the princess called out. "What is this that say that Wardes is a traitor?" She stopped and had to lean forward to gather her breath.

"Just that, your highness," Louise replied after a moment with tears in her eyes. "My fiance only traveled with us to steal the letter you wanted returned. When traveling companions like Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha arrived, he sought to either kill them or drive them away. Finally, he admitted that he would have assassinated Prince Wales if he had found him."

"Dear Louise, this was supposed to be nothing that difficult. But you have gone far and above what I expected of you. To even defeat a mage knight of Wardes reputation, that is truly admirable. Come, you and your friends are all guests of my house this day," the princess declared. "Take the traitor to the dungeons and post a strong guard."

It was only a few minutes for them to be seated in a large anteroom and served drinks.

After a slightly more detailed version of the last few days, the princes let tears trail down her cheeks. "Oh, uncle Varvin. He had been losing his mind for the last two years, which is why I believe the rebels attacked. Without a king of strength to call upon old ties, it was a losing battle from the start."

Tabitha frowned to herself slightly, putting a sideline glance. With a small bow, she said softly, "Kirche defeated Fouquet."

"It was amazing! She had me create some oil with alchemy and then lit up the golem. Between Tabitha's wind and her own fire, they destroyed that monstrous thing!" Guiche exclaimed.

Henrietta studied the very quiet cheveliar. "And why do you bring this up, Cheveliar Tabitha?"

With a quiet wince, the pale-haired girl replied, "Kirche deserves... recognition."

"It's not that important. I mean, we were just tagging along on an important secret mission," Kirche exclaimed with a forced laugh.

"Yet you all helped magnificently," Louise replied with her head down. "I agree with Tabitha. Kirche and Guiche both deserve a bit of reward."

Sheila raised an eyebrow. That was remarkably mature for the girl. Especially to Kirche, whom her family had been enemies. "Our escape would have been a bit harder."

"You have all done me such a great service. Louise, keep the ring in memory of this event." Princess Henrietta stood up. "Kneel before me..." She suddenly hesitated as if she realized something as she gestured to Kirche and Guiche. "Kirche Von Zerbst, would you accept the title of cheveliar in this land far from your home?"

"I would be honored," Kirche replied as she knelt on the carpet, her breasts almost falling out as she leaned forward.

"And Guiche de Gramont, do you accept the title of cheveliar in the service of Tristain?"

"This servant would be humbled by your gracious offer, oh my princess," he replied with alacrity right beside.

"Ferdinand!" the princess called out. The door to the sitting room opened to admit a butler. "Bring my sword to the main hall."

She swept out into the corridor and down several passageways, gathering a few notable people as witnesses. She slipped into her ermine cape and sat on the throne for a few moments before Ferdinand showed up with an ornate, magical sword. "Let all three of you take your place in front of my presence."

Tabitha smiled soft as her friend... no, as all of friends were all knighted for their deeds.

* * *

A cloaked up Sheila and Louise appeared back at the palace gates before dawn the next morning. Louise had appreciated spending the night in her comfortable bed. Sheila had used the a few hours of the time to research more in the library for that term Gandalfr, as she only needed a few hours of sleep. She had no luck yet, but there were not that many books.

The trip from the academy to the palace was only a matter of five minutes at the speed Sheila could run even without putting her all into it. This was so that they could tell the princess more privately about some of the matters they had discovered.

The princess was a bit distraught as she sat at her breakfast in her private room. "How deep in the treachery within my nobles does this conspiracy exist?" she asked in sadness under the dim sun that shown through the drizzling rain.

"We can't know for certain," Louise replied as she reached forward to put her hand on her friend's own hand in a calming gesture.

"I may be able to help with that a bit, but it is not perfect. I can detect many falsehoods, your majesty. And with my speed, I can quickly make it here if needed," the young scion noted from her position at Louise's side, standing at ease next to her chair at the table.

"A truly remarkable ability," Henrietta said admiringly.

"It's not perfect, your highness, but it works very well."

Louise looked torn. "Henrietta, what are you going to do now about your marriage of alliance to Germania?"

"I will break it off, but hopefully in such a manner that they will not be angry. I fear that Tristain will be abandoned under the threat of attack by Albion. But I promised my love to Wales if he came to my protection," she noted with a sad smile.

"And the Reconquista may already have plans for Tristain, I fear. It _is_ an international group of nobles that has already overthrown a kingdom," the demigoddess noted as her mind fit many facts into theories.

"I shall avail myself of your offer then. I will send a fast messenger for when I need of your familiar, Louise."

The trip back to the Academy was quite as quick, leaving damp ruffled grass in their wake.

"So fast, yet I can at least see things when you run," Louise noted as she was set on the ground at the edge of the forest.

"I did not push as fast as I can go. Really, I'm not getting the most out of my uncle's ring," Sheila said as she noted the ring on her finger with the caduceus symbol carved into the gold. "But it's not my own relic, so it fights me for control."

Louise looked a little confused, but was rather more hungry than curious. "Shall we head to the great hall?"

They had just entered the main building when they saw a familiar figure heading to the feast hall himself.

"Louise de la Valliere. And her familiar Sheila! Well met," the casually dressed prince in exile called out.

"Prince-"

"Please, just Wales while I am here. I am supposed to be keeping a low profile while matters are settled betwixt Tristain and Germania." He gave them a sad smile. "I never gave you my thanks. While my duty weighs as heavily on my heart as a mountain, I will do my father proud."

"Of course you will. You are brave and kind. All the things that a great noble should be," Louise said with a blush on her cheeks. Her childhood friend really did have her heart in the right place. She was quite jealous.

Louise heard something creak and pop behind her. With a quick glance, she saw Sheila schooling her face to blandness from a frown as her fists opened and then slipped into the pockets she had asked sewn into her uniform.

"I have no titles nor land to give, only... this ring. But I see you already have the queen's ring." Wales frowned in thought for a long second. "Then I give you this ring, Sheila who is familiar to Louise. Let it symbolize the great bond that you are forging between the two of you, like they did between Henrietta and myself."

Sheila blinked as she accepted the ring. Then she quickly bowed at the waist. "You are very kind, your highness."

Wales sighed as he lifted his cowl of his cloak back over his head. "I am just going to get a bite to eat from the servants. Fare thee well, young maidens."

* * *

Classes were resumed, of course. The four main subjects were the elements of magic; with history, etiquette and writing classes filling in. Sheila had taken to reading nearly as many books as Tabitha in her research. It had been frustratingly vague about Void magic though. The Founder Brimir appeared to be a very mysterious man indeed at this point.

In Professor Colbert's class, Sheila's sensitive nose picked up the smell of crude gasoline. Sniffing slightly, she looked around and wandered up to a contraption on the front table.

"Sheila?" Louise asked as she set her papers down at her seat.

"It's a primitive engine. I don't see an igniter, but it looks like it would crank for a little bit," the scion said as she looked over the item in question.

The bald teacher blinked as he looked up. "You know this device?" he asked as the rest of the students entered the room.

"Yes, these are quite common where I'm from. They've replaced horses and oxen for transportation and farming," she replied happily. "What are you using to spark the fuel?"

"Uh, fire magic actually. What would you use?" he asked curiously.

"They call it a spark plug. A jolt of electricity between two small metal contacts," she happily replied.

"But wouldn't that require magic, too?" the Void mage asked.

"Or magnets," she replied with a grin.

"Magnets?" The very bald professor narrowed his eyes in thought. "Ah, you are giving me a clue and wanting to see if I can work it out."

"She does that a lot," Louise complained with a theatrical sigh as she moved back to her seat. "Oh, that answer might be chapter four. Which book? Well, which one do you think it would be in?"

"Doing your work for you doesn't _help_ you, you know. You still have to learn the runes," Sheila said, then stuck her tongue out at her mage.

That got a titter of laughter from her classmates even as Louise sniffed in a huff. "I do my own work," she declared. Her theoretical knowledge was top notch, even if she wasn't inventing new runes. She started doodling the new runes for a minute as more students and their familiars showed up. Sheila and Tabitha both had their noses in a book (both about exotic spells) while she sat there tapping her dry quill against the paper.

Why shouldn't she be making runes? If she was an actual Void magic, wouldn't it make sense for _her_ to make the runes. Louise had never told Sheila, but even her 'void-runes' had not felt right. Though they had felt... less wrong, perhaps?

She sketched the primary void symbol on the paper, then an fiery rune. Just these two runes alone should make a small spell, like something that would 'void' an fire or reduce its power. Chanting the two runes under he breath... still felt wrong. She went back to doodling.

It was only during Colbert's introduction that she tentatively scribbled a new rune which she labeled null-fiery or unfiery. Then she chanted the new runic word under her breath.

And it felt _right_. And in such an indescribable way.

* * *

The afternoons, after class, were usually taken up by different activities. Louise, not having had a great many close friends usually used this time to study. Sheila had suggested that she use it to practice different things.

Today was dueling wands to practice the style of fighting that Sheila had seen Wardes used. Sheila had her chanting various rune cadences as the crossed wands. Louise had her hair tied back in a long ponytail (much to her vexation) and was sweating considerably. She was quite upset to discover Sheila did not seem to be sweating or breathing hard.

Louise held up her hand to stop, then dropped both hands to her legs as her arms and legs trembled. "Enough," she croaked.

Sheila suddenly realized how badly she had overworked the girl, who thought jogging was a major chore. "Try to slowly walk so your muscle don't freeze up."

Siesta was passing by (being quite curious about what they had been doing) with a load of laundry in her hand. Seeing the familiar looking at her, she stopped and curtsied without dropping the basket.

"Siesta, could you bring some juice or send someone with some? I've overworked Louise," Sheila called out as the mage collapsed onto her face on the grass.

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

"I hurt in place I didn't know I had," Louise complained through the grass.

Sheila knelt down beside her. "Stay still for now. I'll try to massage the worst of it out. It's too bad they don't have a sauna here."

Deft, too-strong fingers pushed into muscle groups, working out the lactic acid that had built up. Her medical studies from the University of Berkley allowed her to target the different muscle groups easily. Adding in shiatsu pressure points from odd reading helped too.

"Ooh. Are you fingers magic, too?" Louise asked muzzily.

"Sort of, I guess. I'm really sorry, my mage. I didn't mean to push you too hard, but you looked like you wanted to keep going so very much. I guess I expected too much of you." Sheila was working up Louise's back as well as she could through the blouse.

"Mistress, I have some juice," the maid said with a soft smile. She had brought a pitcher and two jugs to lay them on the grass in the Vestri Court.

The grape juice was lightly chilled, but Sheila still had Louise only take small sips as she cooled down.

"Thank you, Siesta. You really are very kind," the demigoddess said softly.

The young maid giggled. "I get to see such amazing things. I did not know that nobles dueled so with their wands."

"We were recently in a situation where we saw a trained mage knight. It was quite an eye opener-" she was saying when Kirche trotted over, bouncing heavily. Her familiar was gallumping along behind her. Flame seemed very happy as his tail waved back and forth, somehow not setting the grass on fire.

"Louise! Louise! Did you hear from the capital?" the busty red-headed Germanian said and she flounced to a halt. "That Wardes is to be executed at dawn tomorrow. They are going to hang him and a few other nobles for treason against the crown!"

"Treason? That knight?" the maid blurted out in shock. He had seemed so handsome and suave when he had been here last week.

"Louise, did you want to be there?" Sheila asked curiously as she worked Louise's shoulders.

The pained mage rolled over onto her back, looking into the blue sky. "I don't want to. Not really. But I... need closure."

Sheila started massaging the tops of her legs while humming.

"You know how to be a masseuse? I thought you were too much of a prude?" Kirche said bluntly.

"What?" Sheila snapped out as she bounced to her feet. "Massage is used as a medical technique in my homeland." She was blushing brightly at this point as if she had been caught molesting her mage. That it could be used for Kirche implied as well didn't help at all.

Siesta and Louise started giggling at that.

"Well, let's continue this in your room, my mage. Then we can rest this evening so that we can be there in the morning," Sheila said as she helped the groaning strawberry-blonde up to her feet.

* * *

The main courtyard of the Tristain Palace was in deep shadows as lamps were lit in the early morning. Two rows of mage knights were standing at the ready in front of the crowd that had gathered. Behind them was a raised platform with nooses hanging ready in a somber row.

Louise and Sheila stood to the side, cloaked up but near where the princess stood in a black dress. Henrietta wore her ermine cape and crown, her wand at her hip as she started at the hooded men in shackles.

A royal crier started the event. "Here ye, here ye! By order of the crown, these traitor have been found guilty of high treason and collusion with enemies of the state. Wardes Adolphones, you were found guilty of attempting to take the life of a royal. May the Founder grant you mercy in the next life."

The hood was ripped from Wardes' head, showing a battered and bruised face under the orange glow of the torches. He was dragged up the steps and onto the platform against his struggles. The noose was fitted to his neck properly, where it would snap it like a twig.

"Captain Wardes, do you have any last words?" the crier called out.

"Fie upon you all!" he shouted. "Tristain shall burn! Damn the crown and her bitch of a princess! Her weakness-"

His words were cut off as one of the soldiers slammed a gauntlet against his jaw.

"Executioner, serve the sentence!" called out the new captain of the mage knights.

The crowd was shouting ugly epitaths, booing the man who had been a hero in their eyes. A lever was pulled and with the clack of wood on wood, the trapdoor opened under Wardes. The sound of his neck cracking was painfully audible to Sheila as was his spasming legs kicking in the air in futile efforts.

Princess Henrietta and Louise were both crying, tears glistening under the torch-light as the sun's rose-red light started appearing in the east.

"Baron Verciere," the crier called out, "do you have anything to say?"

"I was framed! I'm innocent!" he declared falsely as his black hood was removed from his head.

"Send the coward to the afterlife," came the order.

The dreadful sound of the second trapdoor opening echoed over the yard, even as the crowd jeered at his words.

Half an hour later, the last of the traitors that had been discovered by Louise's secret mission were swinging in the wind. Undertakers had caskets ready in the back of simple wagons where they would be buried in unmarked graves.

Henrietta had guided them to her private rooms where she had order a bracing round of whiskey to try and calm her nerves. After the first shot, she started crying. "I hated that. They were evil and vile. Wanting to destroy me because of my noble blood when I have done nothing to them. I want nothing more than to hide in my room all day."

Louise had only sipped her potent drink, scowling at the taste. "Is there nothing that would make you feel better?"

"I would wish to spend an hour in my love's arms. But I have duties..." she finished with a sigh.

"Your highness, I would be more than happy to transport you back and forth from the academy. If we leave know, people probably won't even realize that you have left before your are returned," Sheila offered quickly, then looked over at Louise who nodded.

"Exactly! Sheila can easily carry both of us," the Void Mage declared.

"I shouldn't... but I do so want to be held by my love. Let me change quickly." Henrietta quickly removed her crown and then added a heavy cloak and veil again.

Sheila had opened the bay window wide, looking down over the gardens thirty feet below. Carefully picking up both nobles around their waists, she had them hold on tight around her neck. Henrietta's eyes widened in amazement as Sheila's leap bounced off the outer wall and onto a slate roof of a home in a shadowy blur that was too fast for human eyes to easily follow.

"So fast!" the princess gasped.

"Not so fast," Louise cried out. "I can still see things!"

The trip to the academy ten miles away was far shorter than Henrietta could have believed. At the main door, she let them both down and then opened the door.

Henrietta looked back and forth. Louise immediately caught on to the problem. "Um, Sheila? Do you know where Wales' room is?"

Sheila immediately headed to the stairs off to the side that he had used yesterday, kneeling down close to the ground and sniffed. Picking up his particular scent, she started walking up the stairs. In short order, he had led them down three corridors and up to a third level.

She stopped in front of a nondescript door and knocked.

The door opened a moment later, showing a single eye and a wand. Wales then opened the door slightly wider. "Milday Louise? Who is it that accompanies you?"

Henrietta removed her veil. "May I come in, Prince Wales?" She was smiling softly.

"Please, always feel free, my princess."

Sheila was blushing. "We'll be back after breakfast, your highnesses." Wow, were they ever in love.

Louise nodded wistfully. "Until then, your highness."

Henrietta had thrown herself in Wales' arms with a desperate strength.

* * *

Sheila was standing behind Louise at a long, oak table as Princess Henrietta received the new delegate from Albion. Multiple advisers had been upset when Louise and her familiar had been added to their list, far above nobles of title. Tapestries of blue and gold hung from the wall as the morning sun lit up the room brilliantly.

For today, Sheila was wearing Derflinger at her side, to make her look more like an armsman. Louise was wearing a long, white dress with far too many ruffles for Sheila's taste. The princess sat at the head of the table with a duke at her right.

A staff was brought down on the hard wood floor outside and the double doors opened. A noble with long, dark hair stepped in. He was dressed in fine reds and silver, his goatee impeccably trimmed. He swept of his hat and then knelt as he entered.

"The Count de Fermini, envoy of Albion," the crier called out.

"Your highness." He rose after a suitable wait. "It is pleasant to see you doing so well. I understand that you wish to negotiate a pact of mutual nonaggression?"

Henriette nodded slightly. "It is my understanding that Albion wishes peace with all nations and to set their affairs at home in place."

"That is quite correct," the noble lied with perfect aplomb.

Sheila started to keep track of the lies and what was said.

It was an hour later and a very simple treaty had been hammered out. The envoy of Albion had made veiled remarks questioning the location of Prince Wales and a rogue ship of battle, but Henrietta had deftly deflected him. With a small ceremony, they quickly signed the pact.

"I am quite pleased to sign this missive. I shall immediately return to Albion to hand it to Steward Cromwell and Parliament," the envoy declared. "If I may retire? It is a long journey back to my homeland."

"Travel in peace and goodwill," the queen replied truthfully.

The double doors boomed shut.

Duke Vorcei de la Licerius nodded, his gray beard waggling. "That seemed to be productive. At least we do not have to worry about an invasion at this moment. Though I am worried about the fact that they will be provoked if they discover that Prince Wales in within our lands."

Henrietta nodded cautiously. "Louise? May I borrow your familiar for a moment?" the princess asked after sighing. She seemed like she had wilted when the envoy had left, sagging in her seat slightly.

"Of course, your highness," Louise replied quickly.

Sheila stepped to the end of the table and bowed deeply. "Ask of me what you will, your highness."

"What truths did the envoy speak of today?" she asked as she played with the ends of a long strand of hair.

"He was happy to sign a piece of paper and bring it to Cromwell and the Parliament," she replied simply, the stood at attention silently.

The row of nobles waited and then frowned after a minute. Louise gasped softly as she realized what she meant, thinking back over the conversation.

"Is that all?" Henrietta asked.

"Yes, every else he spoke was a lie. Albion will most likely invade within a season, if not the month," she replied frankly.

Vorcei choked at that. "What?" His face had paled dramatically, as he had been a persuasive force for the treaty process. "How do you know?"

"I know when someone lies. A modest talent of my own," Sheila replied truthfully.

Henrietta stood up suddenly. "Summon the envoy from Germania. It appears we have more negotiating to do this day. Hopefully they will be more forthright."

"Your highness, may I retire back to the academy?" Louise asked a she bowed deeply.

"Of course. You are a treasured adviser now. I may send a messenger for you if I need you or your familiar's services again. Please do take care of that book," the princess said with a soft smile.

Louise led the way, the velvet-wrapped book carried protectively in her hands, leaving the old duke to turn towards the princess. "Is this wise to trust them so?"

The princess smile softly at him. "They were the ones that discovered the traitors and helped to find those that plotted against me. That gives me great incentive to trust them, my dear Vorcei. Trust in them," she said softly.

* * *

Sheila set her mage back down upon the ground at the edge of the academy grounds. Louise giggled at that.

"What is so funny?" the scion asked with a small grin.

"I'm getting very used to how fast you run. It is very convenient. Is that Kirche?" Louise asked as she watched the red-head talked to Tabitha for a moment and then was headed to the stables. The two reptiles nodded heads and then followed their masters. "You are headed off the grounds during the school year?"

Kirche gave them a saucy grin. "Of course. I figured that I would take some time and go on an adventure." She suddenly presented a sheaf of scrolls. "I bought treasure maps to many items!" Emblazoned on the top scroll was the name of the treasure and the area of the country it was near. It was slightly between La Rochelle and the village of Tarbes.

Tabitha was reading from a book, but nodded.

Sheila just shook her head. "Hmm. That looks like its near the village that Siesta is from. Well, have fun."

"You aren't interested in treasure?" Louise asked with avarice almost visible in her eyes.

The scion actually grinned at her. "Making money isn't actually that hard, if the need was great. Oh, speaking of her, there's Siesta."

She bowed as she walked up. "I just happened to see you as I was passing." That was pretty patently false, as she had to divert herself fairly wide to talk to them. Probably because she was looking for juicy gossip.

"Kirche, you should interrogate her about the Dragon Raiment. I mean, if her village of Tarbes is close to the treasure, she might have heard of it," Sheila noted to the gathered people.

Kirche did not look too thrilled, actually. "Do I have to? I wanted to get out of the school for a while."

Siesta looked surprised at their interest in her home. "Well, it is real, but it doesn't work. I would love to show it to you. I'm actually going to be headed back to Tarbes to be with my family for a while." She gulped, then smiled in an effort to overcome her worry. "Well, except for the orcs in the way. I'll have to wait for a caravan and that will waste a lot of time." She sighed at that.

"I read about orcs. They are still a problem?" Sheila frowned at that. The books she had read had listed orcs as a sub-human race that was barely noteworthy even as a footnote and not the horror they had been in ancient history. "I'd actually be interested in that. What does this Dragon Raiment look like?"

"I can't really explain it. It's very odd. Everyone who has seen it has been very disappointed though," Siesta explained with a hapless shrug. She seemed to actually be a little ashamed for some reason.

"What do you think, Louise? Should we go and see it?" Sheila already had it in her head that it had to be some sort of dragon armor that may have wing to allow the wearer to fly, but she was far more interested in dealing with these orcs.

"Well, I'm supposed to be working on my benediction for the wedding," Louise protested.

"You can work on that in the wagon on the way. And there's nothing more inspiring than nature itself," Kirche called out loudly as she started to get into an excited mood again. "Heck, the maid can travel with us. With two mages and three powerful familiars, we will be safer than any caravan."

Louise had finally worked through the numbers and realized that Kirche had just slighted her. She had her wand out and was chanting before her wand was diverted to blow up a tree.

"Louise! I'm sure killing your classmates is against _some_ rule here," Sheila said very clearly with a glare as she released the wand.

Tabitha looked up from her book for a second to look at the tree, then went back to her reading. Kirche blanched at what she had seen.

"When did you become capable of casting a spell like that?" the red-headed Germanian noble asked.

"I've been working hard on my element! I just wish this prayer book had something written in it. I'm sure I could cast some of his amazing spells if there were any listed," Louise complained as she waved the ancient, blank book around.

"Maybe the pages are hidden," Sheila said with a shrug. "May I?"

Louise handed over the book reluctantly.

Laying her hands down upon the blank pages, Sheila carefully started to channel her legend through the item like she would through a captured or stolen relic. The ring from Wales Tudor upon her hand started to sparkle instantly as pages started to turn and then writing began to appear.

That actually caught the attention of everyone watching.

"It really is a magical book?" Kirche asked stupidly. "I thought it was just a poorly made fake. There's a Founder's Prayer Book in most major cities of Germania."

Tabitha actually put her book away and was watching intently.

"Vile. So very vile, my mage," the scion suddenly said in an angry tone. "If I'm reading this right, this would bind the soul of a a person and compel the body back to life." A bead of sweat appeared on her brow as she turned the page.

"But it's Void magic, so I should learn it even if I never use that spell," Louise said softly as she read the next page. It was actually longer and more complicated.

"Perhaps. But we'll have to research this more. I'm not sure how are you are supposed to use this as inspiration as a benediction though," the scion said.

"Oh, right." Louise had been trying for days to figure out how to write something grand for her dearest childhood friend's wedding.

"I really would like to see more of this world now," Sheila said wistfully as she looked out to the forest.

"There's a orc temple just a day's ride to the north. On Sylphid, we can make it in half the time," Kirche explained.

"I could practice my void bomb spell," the Void user said thoughtfully.

* * *

The orc temple had looked a bit ragged before the adventurers had arrived. Now with two more pillars had been knocked over and a section of the crumbling ceiling had fallen, crushing three orcs it was looking more open air atrium than enclose temple. The dark gray stone had been carved in a gothic style as seen through evil, non-human eyes.

The incredibly pig-like humanoid monster grunted in amazement as he tried to overpower the slender human in front of him with a huge sword. Squealing in anguish, he called upon his god to smite the human.

"I really did not need to learn that language. My word, what a depraved and evil set of pronouns," Sheila said as she shuddered. Slipping to the left, she let his rusty sword slide down Derflinger's length and into the ground. The tip of the sword broke the sound-barrier with multiple snaps as she gave him six fatal cuts.

Sylphid kukuyed something.

"Yes, I understood that, too," Sheila said as she dashed past another orc, leaving him bereft of a head. The dragon's head snapped around and looked at her in surprise.

Kirche and Louise were snapping out chants, both releasing spells at two different orcs. The fire mage set her's on fire, while the void mage had hit her's with exploding force and knocked two more off their feet.

"Six to two isn't it, Kirche?" Louise said with a sly grin on her face.

Kirche's face became almost as red as her valued hair.

The clanking of Guiche's brass valkyrie golems was quite loud as they beat on one single orc. Siesta stood behind the foppish mage, wishing that she could have stayed back at camp but had been told it would actually be safer here where someone could protect her.

Flame croaked out a reptilian challenge and then spat a fireball nearly as impressive as his master's. Sylphid was using her greater mass and claws to send other orcs flying.

The fight was foregone, as their had only been about twenty orcs to begin with. Privately, Sheila was sure that she could have defeated them all, even with a handicap like using no weapons. But she really wasn't in the mood to give them any openings.

Baby eating monsters did not get any leeway in her mind.

"So, that looks like we are done," Louise commented curiously.

"Ah. Not _quite_ yet. Guiche, it's time for your familiar to shine," the scion of Athena called out as she gestured with her sword to the earth mage.

"My familiar?" He actually looked confused.

Sylphid started hopping in excitement, looking as adorable as a ton of extremely dangerous dragon could.

"Your dragon has figured it out. As expected of any dragon, lovers of treasure hordes that they are," the short-haired girl said to Tabitha.

Tabitha just nodded back.

"Oh! That's right!" Guiche exclaimed loudly. "Lovely Belldandy! Come forth and hunt for the vile monsters rare metals and gems!"

The giant mole (that really did not look that cute) popped up out of the ground, making its mewling noises. It started snuffling around, then with a churrring noise, started to burrow through the ground, leaving a hole big enough for everyone to follow (though Sylphid had to fold her wings very tight.)

All eyes of the group were shocked as they saw an ancient ruin below the temple they had found. There were actual piles of gold and gems scattered around an altar that was lit by Kirche's bobbing witch-light she had conjured.

"Wait just a second. I think there might be a curse on the altar," Sheila called out as she moved to examine the altar. That caught all of the mages attention as they saw her looking into the ceiling above it.

"Something is written there." Sheila's face became pale as she quickly deciphered it. "It says as long the altar is cared for and sacrifices given, that the Fortress of Munakmar will be protected from being wiped out by man."

"That obviously didn't happen. There were no more than a few orcs here."

"Uh oh," Louise said. "That look means that Sheila figured something out."

"Children." Tabitha had followed her on the mental puzzle.

"Exactly. No children or mothers, even though I could smell them on the ones we did fight. And I searched the area thoroughly. They should not have been able to hide unless something _more_ powerful was hiding them."

"And the curse?" the red-headed girl asked as her poor dragon looked woefully at the treasure that she was not allowed to play in.

"Anything here is sanctified to..." Sheila squinted at the glyphs. "...Trumalk, destroyer of good and eater of hearts."

"All that lovely gold," Kirche said in a whining voice. "You can fix this, right?"

"Yes, I think I can. But there may be consequences. We might find ourselves on the edge of a great city of orcs. I don't think it is likely myself, but still possible. We may also call the attention of Trumalk or one of his servants." Sheila did not look happy at that. "I would suggest standing near the tunnel that Belldandy created... just in case."

"I'm a legendary sword and I've never heard of hidden orc fortresses," Deflinger noted. Though the ancient sword was not sure if anyone who ended up finding one of those lived to tell the tale of them.

Sheila went and grabbed the huge sword that the orc had been using against her in the temple above. She swung with a divine fury, smashing great divots out of the black-stone and blood-stained altar. A rumble traveled through as torches lit up in green fire along the edge of the hidden temple. She continued, even as she felt fear growing in her heart.

With a final smash, the altar was sundered into pieces. All of the torches flared high as the mages looked back and forth from where they stood next to the exit. Belldandy had already hid beneath the earth, while Flame was mewling very unhappily.

With a blaze of an exploding bonfire, green and sickly, a massive eight foot tall figure appeared where the altar had been. But that belied his true bulk, because like the orcs they had fought up above, he was stooped over. He had four great tusks that looked sharp enough to cut down a tree protruding from his piggish snout. Beady black eyes glared out from beneath a massive helm and he was armored in chain armor. Gauntlets and greaves finished his outfit, covered in spiny spikes.

In his hand he carried a huge ax. The stench of rotted meat was heavy on his breath and his sweat could curdle milk at fifty feet.

"Who dares profane the temple of Trumalk the Mighty, my dread father?" the orc demanded in the common tongue of humans.

This was just one or two steps down from Sheila's worst case scenario. Hopefully he was not a full god or they were all going to die. "That would be me," Sheila called out, bringing his attention back to her instead of the mortals behind her.

"Why did you break the pact? The divine not interfere with our last followers!" the orc yelled out.

"I have signed no such pact. The orcs here are enemies." A bead of sweat dripped down her back. He looked strong. Hopefully he was not nearly as fast as she was.

"Then die, human! Die by the hand of Krumar the Terrible!" the orc yelled as he charged. His great ax slashed out and shattered the cheap orc blade in her hand. Krumar then started laughing. "You use a mortal sword and you die! Scrakkar eats mortal metal for breakfast."

Kirche was biting her nails, her wand in her free hand. "What sort of monster is that?"

Louise looked on seriously. "It's a demon-god of the orcs."

The only male mage in the party looked like he wanted to faint. "A demon-god? We are doomed! This is as bad as an elf."

"Partner, I don't know if I can block that blade," Derflinger said from Sheila's back.

"I won't test you and lose you this day, Derflinger. I have another blade to use." Sheila reached into the shadows that appeared next to her, drawing a massive black sword.

"Another blade for Scrakkar to eat?" the orc divinity shouted out. He lashed out...

...and steel met steel, sending sparks flying.

"This blade was forged by Hades, god of the underworld himself for his son. I carry it in remembrance... and it will not shatter against the like of you, Krumar."

The orc looked confused as he stared at his ax in confusion. "How-!"

"Ah, you let your father do all the thinking, don't you? This shouldn't be too challenging," Sheila lied so badly that a babe could tell she was finding courage only in defending the people behind her.

It appeared the orc in front of her was a bit too dim to realize that. "You die now!" he screamed as his horrific blade lashed out, smashing a groove deep into the ground.

"About as strong as my friend Dolph is. So able to smash boulders to dust with your bare hands, I'd guess." This was bad with a capital 'B'. He could probably throw very, very, very large boulders for miles. His first hit would end her utterly. She flashed forward under a swing, smashing down upon his armored wrist with a huge swing, only to see the blade bounce off, leaving only a small dent. The slight demigoddess off battle was forced to leap over his next attack.

With a boom, a three foot column exploded as the missed attack powered through the hard stone as if it were nothing more than cheap wood.

That was when spells started raining down upon the orc demigod. Ice from Tabitha's staff smashed itself to splinters off of his chain. A massive fireball from Kirche's wand splashed over the orc, causing him to roar. Louise's void bomb rattled the whole room and knocked him back a foot.

"Mages," Krumar called out, his snout curling in a sneer.

"My mages, actually," Sheila called out. A crimson radiance erupted from her blade as the Hadecleus moved faster than mortal eyes could track, crunching into his side with bone-jarring force.

Black, vile blood erupted from the wound in his side, causing the demigod orc to squeal like the half-pig thing he was. "What- How?"

Three more spells rocketed into him even as a giant, twelve foot tall golem of brass design charged in. The ax whirled again as Sheila flexed out of the way by the smallest of margins, shattering the golem and a wall. The black sword of death was imbued with the essence of deadly war again, its red fury striking hard on the orc's arm.

Blood dripped from the wounds, but all it seemed to do was infuriate the evil, divine thing. With a roar, he picked up a ten ton pillar of stone and threw it at Sheila. He swung out his ax to sweep through the open area she would have to dodge through. She rolled on the ground with the ax swinging so close to her that it actual cut the tips of her hair on her brow.

The moment she was finished her roll was back on her feet, desperately channeling war through her sword again. The orc's burns and nicks from the fire and void explosions were visibly healing as he roared again. The room shook as Krumar strove to kill the annoying girl. She spun forward in a flurry of feints to final jab the blade into his stomach.

Kurmar's pig snout flare as his mouth dropped open in surprise. Blood gushed from his lips.

"Sheila, Louise said to get out of there!" Guiche shouted as Louise finished chanting.

A massive glow was appearing as the shortest mage kept chanting. Louise felt more than saw a blur pass her by as her spell streaked out.

Krumar, son of Trumalk, closed his eyes against the glare as his life's blood was leaking out the fatal wounds. The explosion rocked the forest ruins as the orcs in the huge fortress overlooking it stared in shock. They had been watching the strange mages going into the ancient temple with some of the young warriors for blooding. The odds had been against them, as it appeared all but one of the humans had been a mage.

The explosion had been far beyond what they expected. At least for just a mage and not several dragons working as one.

Pebbles fell from the tunnel ceiling to bounce off on heads and shoulders.

"Louise, I think we need to go over some basics on casting certain spells indoors. Is everyone all right?" the scion called out.

Voices chimed out. Everyone appeared to mostly fine at this point, though Sylphid appeared to be suffering from many bruises and a concussion from protecting everyone with her bulk. With hardly a thought, Sheila healed the most serious of the dragon's wounds, turning them into deep, bone-wearying bruises.

"Yes, Louise! No massive explosions in confined places. But what a wonderfully powerful spell. You do appear to be working beyond your old title of the Zero," Kirche said with a smirk. That was a high compliment from her.

"Actually..." Louise looked over at Sheila for a moment. "...the Zero seems very appropriate."

"How do you figure that?" Guiche asked in confusion.

"A void is nothinginess... or zero matter. So you've been calling Louise a void user before she even knew her element," Sheila explained. She whistled suddenly at the lip of the crater. "There's a huge fortress there. I'm seeing hundreds of orcs in armor. I don't think we are ready for another battle here."

"No, I'm almost out of will," Kirche said as she got a small puff out of her wand.

"I could create several more golems, but I'm am near exhaustion," the only male mage said as he took stock of himself.

Tabitha just nodded.

"Just a matter of will?" Sheila murmured to herself. She stood back up on the edge of the crater, looking at them. She sparked something within her to ignite a fire of will within her friends. "We _can _do this. Each of you is incredibly powerful in your own way. You've shown yourselves to have great character and the will of heroism. Feel within you that spark. Fan it with the flames of your noble will and unleash it upon your enemies."

Louise's hand had stopped its tremble as she felt the truth within the words. "I can do this."

"Wind and fire," Tabitha said to Kirche.

"Ooh, combination magic. Fun! Should we get Guiche to magic up some oil?" Kirche asked as she bounced a bit to flaunt her assets.

"Defense," the ice mage replied as she readied her staff.

"She's right. We'll need Guiche to create shield-maidens, because I expect that those orcs are going to attack if they realize we can see their fortress," the scion of Athena stated as she studied the fortress covertly.

They went over the plan and then after ten minutes, they jumped into action. Six valkyries with massive bronze shields appeared, setting up a phalanx. Kirche and Tabitha came out, chanting quickly as the air within the fortress swirled hotly as they combined their magics.

That was when the orcs realized that the humans could _see_ their fortress. Two orcs rushed over to massive warning gongs, only to be shot down as Sheila fired her pistol well beyond the range of a normal pistol. She had knelt by the edge of the shield, using it to cover as she fired like a policeman would, two hands on her gun. Personally, she was upset that her bullets were drifting six inches from what she was targeting.

The crack-crack of bullets was very quiet by most people's standards, but the sound of fear the Orcs had was anything but quiet. They knew what the magics of death and destruction felt like. It was almost like a comfortable pair of boots to them and they felt nothing when this quiet crack and one of their own dropped dead in a spray of blood. Arrows started to fire back quick.

The wind had started to howl as it turned into a fire storm, drowning out the terrified screams of the orcs. Great gouts of fire were spewing through arrow-slots and windows.

Louise had been chanting for almost a full minute. This would be her most powerful spell she had ever cast. She stepped out and finished her chant. For one moment, nothing appeared to have happened.

Then the Void Magic exploded with the brilliance of a sun at noon with the force of a shattering mountain. The top of the fortress just disintegrated as the whole structure collapsed.

"Yes!" Sheila shouted, pumping her fist in victory. "Wahoo!"

"We did that?" Louise said in a voice filled with wonder.

"We did! That was amazing! Of course, our firestorm would have defeated them, but blowing them _all_ up works, too," the red-headed Germanian said with much gusto.

"I didn't get to help much," Guiche said.

"That's not true. Loot at the front of the shields," she called out.

Arrows and spears were imbedded in the soft bronze.

"See, Guiche! You kept us from being skewered. I might even be impressed," Kirche said to the foppish noble while thrusting out her chest.

Siesta giggled at that. "You kept us from harm. That's very important, milord Guiche."

The words from the pretty girls seemed to help him a lot.

It was only twenty minutes later that gryphon riders arrived to discover what caused the massive pillar of fire and smoke.

* * *

A week later and they finally made it to the village of Tarbes. It was a fairly nice farming village, but did lack a few important amenities.

"There's no inns?" Louise asked for the fourth time. She was definitely unhappy with sleeping on the ground or under the wagon.

"I'm sorry, milday," Siesta apologized again. "I'm sure that we can find someone that would be willing to room you. It would be a very great honor."

"No local lord? I'm surprised there isn't a baron or a landed knight," Sheila pondered aloud.

"Lord de la Tromete has a home outside of the town, but he lives in the capital most of the time. He has a single groundskeeper on staff." The maid smiled happily. "Oh, there's my house."

The large house had what seemed to be a dozen people in front of it. Siesta dashed forward to be engulfed in her familial love.

Sheila looked on wistfully, causing Louise to look at her in surprise.

"This seems odd, Sheila. You are acting like you really wish that were you there," the diminutive mage asked her familiar.

"In some ways. I was raised by my foster mother and father, but it was more like academy training now that I know what to compare it to. Athena had wanted me trained very hard. I was doing advanced math by the time I was seven and reading history books or the theories of war. I trained every day to very stringent levels," Sheila said with a touch of bitterness. Dolls and playing had been subsumed into playing 'war games' and stretching her mind at every conceivable level. "I was graduated from basic schooling by the time I turned ten."

Louise's mouth had dropped open at that.

"Come along! Let's get everyone cleaned up and fed," Siesta called out, leading them to her family. She quickly introduced them to everyone.

It ended up Louise and Sheila stayed at Siesta's family home, while Kirche and Tabitha stayed at one neighbor's while Guiche actually just created himself a little house out of the earth.

The next morning, they all met up in front of Seista's old house.

"So where is this Dragon's Raiment?" Kirche asked everyone as she studied the map. It showed that it should have been to the north-east.

"Oh, I guess I can guide you there. It's a popular visiting place," the maid said in a subdued voice. "It's not too far."

They had barely stepped on the path outside the village when they saw a familiar figure ahead of them.

"Professor Colbert?" Louise called out as she saw the bald man on the path outside town.

"Ah, all of my missing students! This is where you had gotten to?" the professor that taught fire magic and science replied.

"Yes, we are here to see this amazing thing known as the Dragon's Raiment," Kirche replied. Tabitha was following along behind her, her nose in a book.

"We've been adventuring," Guiche admitted. "Now I will be able to afford lovely gifts for my beloveds... Montmorency, I mean."

"Ah, I'm actually here to see that treasure myself. You have a local guide?" Colbert asked.

"Siesta is actually from the village, so said she would guide us. She did say that we would be disappointed for some reason." Sheila arched an eyebrow at the dark-haired girl who was blushing about something.

"It's a very strange thing. I doubt you will be impressed at all." Siesta pointed at a very incongruous building up a head on the edge of a large field.

"What is a pagoda-style building doing here?" Sheila noted of the building.

"You recognize it?" Siesta blurted out in shock. "Grandfather said it was the style of building from his homeland."

With a little help from Sheila and Guiche, they slid open a large set of doors.

Sheila whistled loudly at the sight. "Well, I'll be damned," she said. "A Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter. In perfect condition? This is an airplane from my world. What is it doing here?"

"EH!" everyone exclaimed to her. Sylphid looked confused, as the thing did not look like a dragon at all.

"You know what this is?" Siesta asked in stunned shock.

"Certainly. These killed enough US soldiers during World War II. Carrier launched, long-range fighter-bomber that was a terror in the skies during the first part of the war. It wasn't until the United States built newer, faster and more powerful fighter planes that it lost its title as the most dangerous fighter in the Pacific Theater." Sheila was running her handing across the front edge of the vintage fighter plane's wing.

"My grandfather fought against your ancestors?" the maid asked in sudden worry.

"That was over sixty years goes. Now Japan and the United States are very strong allies," Sheila said to quickly calm the girl down.

"This is a war machine? And it flies?" Colbert asked.

"Wait-" Kirche was looking at the demigoddess in consternation. "World War Two? What sort of conflict is that?"

"Ah, the kind on my world that spans almost all the continents and across most oceans," she replied with a faraway look. "My country is very good at making war."

"How does it fly? Grandfather always said that it could, but then made excuses when he could not prove it," Siesta said, sounding like a little girl that has been told that Santa Claus might actually be real.

"It's probably out of petrol fuel. You all remember the little engine from Professor Colbert's class, right?" At the mage's nods, she continued. "It has to burn some fuel to turn the propeller, which drags the plane very fast through the air. The wings can lift the whole thing off the ground when it goes fast enough. But it's a terrible glider without its engine."

"How is it a war machine though?" Guiche asked.

"It has guns like my pistol, but able to fire many more rounds at a much higher rate and can drop bombs." She patted the cannon openings. At their confused look, she sighed as she pulled the pistol out of a shoulder holster. "This is a very personal weapon. That is an anti-vehicle version. Much bigger, much heavier and can fire hundreds of shots a minute."

"My word. That would change combat greatly," Colbert said in a worried voice. "Could you build one?"

"Um... Probably. It would be an interesting engineering challenge. Professor, do you think we might be able to synthesize some fuel?" she asked.

"Possibly if we had a sample."

Sheila moved over to where the fuel tank was. "We are in luck," she called out. "There appears to be some fuel preserved in the bottom."

"Then certainly. Your world... is very amazing."

Louise was shocked that something like this was here.

* * *

The door to a bar in Tristain's lower class area opened, admitting two cloaked up figures that carefully looked over the drinkers. Unlike the bar that Matilda had found Old Osmond at, this was visited by the common folk and servants. She sauntered and ordered a drink, haggling for the price like a good commoner. The cloaked figure at her side moved off to stand by the doorway.

It was half an hour later that she saw her target, one of the butlers of the Academy, visiting for the weekend. She paid for her drink and visited the outhouse and 'happened' to have to sit next to him.

"Is this seat taken?" the earth mage asked coquetishly. "I'm Maddie."

"Only for a pretty lady," he replied in a terrible faux-suave manner. "I'm Hernando."

She shifted back her hood to show off her newly lightened hair in short curls. "Perhaps I could get you to buy me a cup of wine?"

"Certainly," the hooked-nose fellow replied with alacrity. He sensed an opportunity to not spend his night alone, though it might be a little costly.

"Did I hear right that you work at the famed Tristain Academy?" Matilda saked as she made a production of drinking her wine.

"Yes. I'm in charge of the fourth floor maids," the homely man explained while preening. His cheeks already showed that he was well into his cups, as the server took his fifth cup away.

"Are they as bad as the nobles in Germania's Holgston Academy? I heard the would hide the most scandelous things. Like unwed girls being sent home for disreputable behavoir. Positively horrible," the Albion rebel asked in a low tone to invite him to lean closer.

"I do believe that is why a few of our students from outside the country. There's this red-headed girl that makes me suspect she's carried a child with how... developed she is," Hernando replied in a conspiratoral whisper as his eyes were drawn to her neckline. He carefully looked around. "In fact, I think we may be playing host to a high noble that is hiding from the public. It's terribly hush-hush and only the most trusted servants are allowed to speak to him and bring him food."

Matilda blinked in shock. She had thought she was just going to be discovering some juicy rumors about the human familiar and her mage, but this was likely the exact person she had been searching for. To think she had thought that Henrietta had placed him within the palace. "Really? Well, I wouldn't think of having you talk about such a sensitive matter. Have you ever heard of the tales of Bernard Foglio?"

"I don't think I have? Are they interesting?" he asked, confused with what she was asking about.

"Well, it's about a mistress from the famed city of Anduvior in easter Germania."

"Really?" The butler upgraded his chances for the evening greatly.

"Buy me another drink and I'll explain it. It's positively sinful what she is asked to do by the depraved nobles of her city." Hook, line and sinker. When he turned away, a swish of her wand under the bar moved half the drink over to his now slightly enlarged ceramic mug.

She was already concocting a plan to send Albert to the Academy. Weren't Varvin and Osmond old friends from long ago?

* * *

"This is my grandfather's grave," Sieast said later, back on a hill overlooking the village. "He made the gravestone before he died."

The black stone Japanese-styled grave maker had carved into it, 'Navy Ensign Sasaki Takeo, rests in the world of two moons,' using katakana.

"As expected, he was an officer. Sasaki Takeo was his name?" She had leaned forward and was tracing her hand down the row of symbols.

"Grandfather Takeo? You can actually read those words?" The young maid looked at the stone marker in silence. "He left some things for someone that came from his world. And the Dragon's Raiment. He wanted them to have these items."

With that, she led her back to the house to show her a set of aviator goggles and a very old, leather jacket.

"Did he have this preserved, too?" Sheila asked as she carefully poked at the padding on the goggles.

The maid shrugged. "The far east that grandfather came from must be very cold if you had to wear clothing like this all the time," Siesta said.

"Actually, it gets cold flying very high up. You had to wear fur-lined clothing like this, even in the hot tropics. I should probably see about getting someone to make leather clothing like this for Louise for when we go flying," Sheila muttered to herself.

"Suppers ready, Siesta!" her mother called out from the dining area.

Louise was sitting down, looking uncomfortable. "So what did you find out?" she demanded of Sheila.

"It is from my world. And strangely, its been bequeathed to me from its owner. I'm not sure where I'd put it, but it would be fun to tinker with," the scion replied with a small shrug.

"Ah! Professor Colbert mentioned that he had asked a couple of knights on leave from the army to pick it up. Do you think we should take him up on the offer?" the strawberry-blonde asked as she stirred the stew uncertainly. It did not look nearly as nice as what she was used to.

"Oh, I think we can handle that with a small purchase of strong rope." Sheila gave her a steady look with her blue-green eyes. "And maybe a sweater. It might get a bit cold on our trip otherwise."

Siesta looked confused. "Oh, because it gets cold if you go up high?"

"I'll probably avoid going too high. Besides, Louise can use this opportunity to get a feeling for the wind of flying. Maybe it will make her come up with an idea for her benediction," the demigoddes noted.

"Can you tell us anything else of the 'airplane'," Louise asked as she smiled at that thought.

"About the only noteworthy thing that I haven't mentioned is the radio. Not very useful without a ground radio station to talk to, but it uses electricity to send a form of energy out that can be read by other radios. You can talk to a person over a hundred miles away," she explained.

"That's a powerful magic!" Louise blurted out.

"There's no magic involved at all." Sheila frowned in thought. "Actually, I could probably make a radio if I put my mind to it. I could definitely make a telegraph easily. That sends a coded message through copper wire over very long distances."

"And it doesn't require magic?" Siesta asked. "You come from a very strange world."

"With only one moon," she agreed with a nod of her head.

* * *

Sheila looped the strong hemp rope around the fusilage so that she was holding two stout loops on either side othe cockpit. Louise was bundled up with a coat and sweater. The goggles were on the top of her head.

"So warm," the noble complained. "This looks very strange in here." The knobs and dials really were intimidating.

"This tells you how fast you go. The speedometer goes up to 600 miles per hour, but I think it topped out just over five hundred. We aren't going to go nearly that fast. This mile is slightly longer than the mile you are used to-"

"So this can fly nearly as fast as you can?" Louise blurted out.

"Well, this 60 year old plane can match that, yes. The newer ones can go much faster. This controls the rudder, just like in a ship. The pedals are like the rudder, but for up and down motion. I don't want you to do more than hold them steady though." The Gandyfr runes were actually telling her the specifics, which was much better than the crash course she had on a very different plane on the way to lost Atlantis under the ice of Antartica. "See if you can close the cockpit. That will keep you from getting quite so cold."

Siesta was watching them as the sun was setting behind the shrine. She was still a little confused as to how Sheila was going to move the plane, but she assumed it would be with magic somehow. "Good luck!" she called out.

"We'll be back in an hour or two to travel home with Kirche and the others," Sheila promised as she floated off the ground.

Siesta smiled at the levitation, though she was wondering where her wand was. The young maid frowned as she saw Sheila grab both loops on each side of the strange glass top. She heard the creak of the rope and saw the strange, wheeled legs extend slightly as the slight girl's muscles corded under the strain. She stumbled back a couple of feet and then fell onto her rear as the wind seemed to pick them both up. That was not _human_. That was not even magic that she knew of.

"Pump that lever... that one on the left side... to have it retract its landing gear. Now hold on," the demigoddes called out. She was actually having to push herself very hard to get it to move, but they were slowly gaining altitude and speed.

Louise closed the cockpit as she looked around through the air. The moons were rising as the airplane vibrated under her seat. After about fifteen minutes, she slid open the canopy again and poked her head up to get a better view. The cold wind stung in her eyes. Remembering the goggles, she lowered them over her eyes.

The rush of the wind was loud in her ears, but she had a huge smile. "This is just as good as when you fly me around."

"The airplane is actually very loud when it runs on its engine," Sheila called back loudly from only a foot away. "Be careful, you are about to push the rudder left."

"Oh, sorry." That did not stop Louise from looking around as they climbed above the clouds. It really was getting cold up here.

The moons lit up everything, turning it into a ghostly wonderland as the buzz of the free spinning propellers droned in the background.

"There's the capital on the left side. So we are very close already."

"There it is!" Louise called out excitedly even as she sat back down. "This is only 250 miles per hour? So we travelled for an hour already?"

"That's right."

And in front of them appeared the doll-sized looking castle with its five towers set out in a star-pattern. The landing gear was lowered again and the plane set down near the tower that was used for storage. Sheila grabbed some firewood blocks to chock the landing gear, all without putting her feet on the ground.

Louise looked longingly at the students dorms, but turned back to her familiar. "Shall we get back?" She was not going to quit her adventure before Kirche did!

"We'll be going back a little faster this time. I want to see how fast I can really go." The scion flexed her stinging fingers. Carrying the weight of the plane that entire distance had really put a stress on her hands and shoulders. Her hands were red and raw looking.

They were soon flying through the air again, faster and higher this time. Louise shivered as they shot through a cloud bank to appear above a sea of white clouds. Under the two moons, it looked like the fabled lands of the elves, far off to the east.

"Do you want to try controlling the flight a little bit?" Sheila called out into her ear carefully.

"Oh? How?" Louise was intrigued.

"Hold out your hands and use them flat to turn, go up and down," she instructed as she carefully slid her hands down to the longer-haired girl's waist to hang the mage below her.

The mage was tenative, diving back down below the clouds and then up. After a minute, she started to laugh as it really felt like _she_ was the one flying.

One of the trips under the clouds, Sheila pulled Louise closer. "We're almost there. There's the shrine." The scent of lavender from the mage's shampoo was disconcerting her, causing an ache in her heart.

Louise turned her hands to curve in that direction, laughing like a small child. They landed in front of Siesta's home. The shorter girl immediately started to run around like a little girl pretending to fly.

"I must figure out a spell to allow me to fly like that," the Void Mage declared.

"Not impossible, It might be hard to control though," Sheila said tiredly.

"Are you all right?" her mage asked worriedly.

"Just tired. That was very hard even for me. I just need to rest."

With that, Louise took charge and bundled her off to the bed they were sharing. Sheila actually suspected it to be Siesta's old bed.

With the both of them in the smaller bed, they had to curl up together. The scent of Louise filled her nostrils and sent her to strange dreams, causing her to snuggle closer to her mage.

* * *

It was days later back at the academy. Louise had ducked out of any punishment after explaining to Old Osmond that she was seeking inspiration. And really, she had gotten some ideas.

Louise just happened to be utterly horrible in composition.

"Barrels do not have anything to do with air, Louise. And it makes it sound like you think they care more about business. Did you try to get a copy of the queen mother's benediction for her marriage?" Sheila said from where she was busy fiddling with the engine. She had carefully drained the oil into a small barrel that she had labeled with a skull and crossbones.

"I did, but it was not very good." Louise had been scandalized to find out what had been recorded. It was like a torrid love poem written by a some girl before she came to the academy. It appeared the queen's bridesmaid had been more renowned for her beauty than her mind.

"I take it that it was not very good?" The scion studied the spark plug that she had taken out.

"Horrible," Louise replied with a shudder.

Germania had not been happy when Princess Henrietta had withdrawn from the marriage of alliance. Well, the imperial family was not happy, most Germanians had been won over by the tragic love story between the exiled prince that lost his kingdom and the the princess that defied the threat of Albion for love. It was turning out to be amazingly popular among the bards and at plays that sprouted up everywhere.

Louise and Sheila had even gotten a small part in it, discovering the treachery of the evil knight Wardes and spiriting the prince to safety. Though somehow the part about Kirche, Guiche and Tabitha fighting Fouquet had become an epic battle all cross La Roquelle.

Professor Colbert was busy working on synthizing gasoline. He was actually converting some of the old compost to a biodiesel fuel that seemed like it would work after they checked his first sample. Though she had to convince him to calm down on the matter. She had even had him recuit some of the more promising alchemists like Guiche into working on the project.

Of course, those three had been set to punishment detail, cleaning windows without the use of magic. Kirche thought it was very unfair, while Guiche had worried about his delicate hands being forever marred by the drudgery. Tabitha had, of course, said nothing but gotten to it quickly. Sylphid and Flame had been drafted a bit for the work. Tabitha stood on her dragon's shoulder, while Flame kept the soapy water warm with his tail.

Louise scribbled with a pen as she worked more on the benediction, having as much luck as before. After another few minutes, she finally looked up. "Are you going to that meeting with the envoy from Gallia?"

"Yes. So I should clean up. You should, too."

Louise blushed slightly. "Actually, I've been invited to tea. With you-know-who. Because he doesn't have anyone else here that knows he's here to chat with him." She stood up to head to the third floor where Wales was staying. "I'll see you in a few hours."

The door opened at her knock. "Ah, mistress Valliere. Come in," Albert said in a flat tone that some butlers are renowned for.

"Albert, try to lighten up. Father would want you to live outside of the shadow of his death," Wales said as he stood up from the small sitting table. "Louise, please come sit. Albert and books are none too great company."

"I'm sure that has to do with who you wish you could be with," the strawberry-blonde void mage said with a grin. Henrietta was far too lucky to have such an astounding man fall in love with her. "What are you reading?"

"Some of the ancient histories. My love sent them to me, when I said I was interested in the Gandalfr." To live in a time where such an astounding familiar existed boded for great things in the future. He could almost believe that Albion would be retaken.

Albert's eyes narrowed at that as he finished making some tea over the fireplace. "Some Mariage Freres Sacred White tea, milady?"

"Oh, my mother loves this tea. It's far too expensive normally, but for a special occasion? Wonderful," Louise replied with aplomb.

"I expected you to be followed by your familiar? Is she still working on that, er, airplane I think you called it?" the exiled prince of Albion asked curiously.

"No, the princess asked for her to sit in on a meeting with the envoy of Gallia. Though it might pauper Tristain, she still seeks to hire mercenaries for the upcoming war," Louise replied, then took a lingering sip of the sinfully delightful tea.

Wales noted the frown on Albert's face. "Come now, goodman Albert. I will send you away before I allow you to be mistreated by the Reconquistia again. It is the least I can do for my father's valued servant and longtime companion."

"As you say," Albert said. He moved over to prepare the leaves for the next batch of tea. He palmed a small crystal vial with a dark liquid. Only another half hour for the tea to go cold. In fact, he could make it go slightly faster. He would have to sample his work.

* * *

Sheila stood at the back of the meeting hall, listening to the Gallian as he talked over prices and how many troops were available. Unfortunately, he was telling the truth, unpalatable as it might be.

"-so unfortunately, as much as I would love to see about our Fifth Legion being available for hire, they are busy suppressing an uprising under the banner of the notorious count Varsmin. The count does raise unholy war against his liege, but he overmatched," the bald man said. The eye patch covered a missing eye. No young fop was this, but a man of battle.

"I thank you for your candor. Not many would admit to an uprising as had happened to Albion," Henrietta replied graciously. "We must all work to safeguard our realms. Please thank his majesty for sending such an important personage as yourself here to explain these simple matters."

"Your highness is far too kind." The old viscount bowed at the waist and started to step back.

The doors to the room slammed open. "Your highness! I bring dire news!" a gryphon knight called out. He looked disheveled and his armor carried a gash that had broken his skin under it. "Albion has invaded. Even now their battleship _Lexington_ carries men and supplies to a landing point just west of La Rochelle. We have already lost the _Adirianna_ to their treachery."

Princess Henrietta sat up more straight. "It appears you knew the truth indeed, Sheila Henderson. Albion invaded within the month." She turned to the demigoddess when she saw _something_ happen to the girl standing in front of one of the many blue and gold tapestries.

Sheila suddenly felt a massive flare of power from the Gandalfr runes on the back of her hand. Her left eye suddenly glowed a bright red as she was suddenly assaulted by a vision.

_Louise slumped over the small sitting table in Prince Wales room even as the prince's fumbling hands dropped his wand. From across the room behind Louise, the butler Albert took a dagger from a sheath hanging on Wales' bed. A small round decanter was opened with his open hand and the red liquid was poured on the blade even as he spoke._

_But most horrifying to her eye was that she could see Louise and Wales' hearts and lungs shutting down as the deadly nerve toxin flooded through their bodies. They would be dead in moments._

"Assassin!" Sheila hissed, her mind frantically trying to think of a way to get to the Academy _now_. Her valued speed was useless, as it would take a minutes to get back. Not even her uncle's ring would not speed her feet fast enough... The ring!

"Assassin? Where?" her sword cried out.

Without a moment's hesistation, she unleashed her legend through her body in an avalanche of power as the Gandaflr runes flared, burning white bright enough to make everyone else in the room flinch. The relic, taken from one of Herme's daughters that had betrayed the gods and her father, the ichor of Hermes battling her Legend. For a moment, it felt as if she failed until she ripped fate unto her own hand.

Her desperation, her will was utterly superior as she forced it to obey her. The ring of gold, with the caduceus engraved upon it, finally released its most powerful ability of the mortal world... the brilliance of the Bifrost Bridge itself. Warping space and time, Sheila was suddenly no longer within the presence of the court, but now at her Mage's side covering her even as she flickered between moments to unleash a cleansing burst of healing that purged the poison from both mages.

Albert did not even slow, his movements unnaturally fast as he stabbed at Louise and then threw the dagger to cut Wale's shoulder. "You interfered. You should not have been able to be here," the undead said with a frown as he reached for her with more than human strength.

"What was that?" Deflinger called out, shocked by the turn of events.

"You live," Sheila whispered to Louise, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. Her head suddenly snapped up, her eyes cold with fury. "You tried to kill my Louise."

Albert just tried to get a better purchase on her body to break limbs. He felt his undead ribs shattering as it felt a cannonball hit his body. The window to the prince's room exploded outwards, showering glass, wood and the undead assassin upon a suddenly terrorized first year class that had been practicing for their own summon familiar ritual.

"Wales," Louise croaked out. "Save him for the princess." What was wrong with her voice?

Sheila glanced over at the fallen prince, seeing him convulsing from a new poison. She grabbed her dagger off her belt, cutting more deeply into the wound to press out the small drops of blood in the scratch. It needed to be cauterized. So she snapped off part of the metalwork in the fireplace and burned a mark upon the wound with sizzling blood. "He'll live. But the assassin dies!"

Albert was just standing back up as his ribs mended almost instantly.

Mrs. Chevreuse fainted dead away at the sight as her class screamed. Sheila landed with a crunch on the broken glass, ignoring the burning on her back.

The undead butler frowned. "Why aren't you dead? Ashwind Viper is fatal to all men." He started moving forward.

"You aren't alive. You are some sort of undead thing," the demigoddess hissed out even as she pulled out Derflinger.

"No! An undead thing? I don't want to try and absorb its magic! It'll taint me!" the battered old sword exclaimed.

"You have got to be kidding me." Visibly restraining her temper for a moment, she slammed the sword into the dirt. "Fine. Stay there." She blocked the butler from grabbing her again under the brilliant blue sky and grass, even as the brown-robed students fled back to the school.

"Die, Gandalfr! Die for the glory of the Reconquistia!" he intoned, his fingers trying to rip and claw at her in a cold frenzy of attacks.

"No, you first!" she ordered, even as she summoned a bolt of lightning from the clear blue sky, sending his scorched form hurtling from a new crater.

A moment later he was back on his feet, his unnatural flesh mending back to healed paleness.

"Dispel!" a soft voice called out, causing a brilliant light to blast into the butler.

Albert crumpled instantly to the ground, like a puppet with all of his strings cut. Sheila felt the body falling from the window as Louise's little strength was drained by her spell. In a flash, she caught her mage before she could hit the ground.

"You stupid, stupid fool. I could have defeated him. I wasn't the one in danger," the demigoddess said as she held Louise tightly. "But you had to do your duty, didn't you?"

The Void Mage's eyes were closed, but she heard the words as she rested up.

Lips touched her forehead, sending a wash of health back into her body with a surge of power. All of the gross damage was instantly removed.

Louise opened her eyes in confusion to see Sheila's tears. "Why do you cry so? Aren't I Louise the Zero, the failure that you have to fix?"

"I l- care too much to ever think that, Louise." And it was the utter truth, much to the demigoddess' confusion.

* * *

Louise and Sheila were walking down the main hallway of Tristain's royal palace. Besides them were a pair of gryphon knights they had met halfway back from the academy. They had been sent there as quickly as possible after Sheila had disappeared in a burst of rainbow brilliance.

The crier at the door slammed his staff down. "The lady Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere and her familiar."

With a groan, the double-doors were pushed open to the meeting room where Henrietta was talking to her military advisors. All of the nobles were girded for war. "Louise! What happened?"

The young noble quickly went to one knee. "An assassin struck at myself and Osmond's guest. We would have died if my familiar had not appeared and saved us. He... is unconcious, but seems like he will survive."

"Who did this?" the princess demanded as her nuckles went white from the effort of gripping the edge of the table.

"He struck for the glory of the Reconquistia," Sheila said as she shifted the LAW rocket on hits strap over her shoulder. Osmond had not been happy, but understood when Sheila had told him of an invasion. Her left hand still ached, as did her back where the butler had slashed her with the vitriolically poisoned dagger.

"Albion has invaded. Even now our fleet fights a desperate delaying action near La Rochelle, but they are heavily overmatched against the Lexington and her escorts," one of the queen's advisors called out.

"Then it appears we have little time to waste." Louise turned to her familiar. "Do you think that the Staff of Destruction can turn the tide of the battle along with your aid?"

"I think so," Sheila said after considering a moment. "Maybe enough to force a withdrawal." And killing Reconquistia would definitely help with some of her anger issues.

"The army marches upon the hour. I will lead it myself," Henrietta declared as she stood up. She had already changed into a breastplate and armored skirt. "The dogs of Albion- These acts they have committed are unforgivable."

"Your highness, you are not a trained warrior-" the general noted.

"I am a square mage. Power will tell," the princess declared to deny his point of contention.

"I will go with my familiar, your highness. I have a power that may make a difference in this battle," the strawberry-blonde made said.

"You can travel with me, my childhood friend," Henrietta said with a soft smile.

"I intend to join battle in the next fifteen minutes, your highness. If my mage accompanies me, we will be far ahead of you," Sheila explained.

"Fifteen minutes? Impossible!" the general exclaimed. "You would have to fly faster than the wind."

"Exactly." Sheila gave him a thin smile.

"Princess Henrietta, do we have leave to depart for the field of battle?" Louise asked formally.

"Be safe, my chevaliar. Bring destruction and ruination upon my enemies," the princess ordered.

With that, the mage and her familiar departed as quickly as they arrived. In moments they were winging through the air with an appointment of battle.

* * *

Captain Derek Von Klyde looked over his men on the deck of his ship. "The Reconquista has come to Tristain. We failed our prince once. Will we fail him agin?"

The crew of the _Eagle_ shouted out, "No, sir!"

"The _Lexington_ has arrived and is currently fighting the ships of Tristain, but they are very overmatched." The young noble that had stayed loyal to Wales looked over his too-young crew. "I will tell you the truth. The _Lexington_ carries twice times our guns and has three times our armor. But if we are to dine in hell these eve, let's send them before us. She is not so large that she can ignore us ramming her."

"Yes, sir!" they shouted in deep fervor.

One of the men shouted, "For the prince!"

"Then man your positions. Ready the cannons and may the Founder be with you!" Von Klyde shouted even as he headed to the steering wheel. "Cast off!"

With a creak, the _Eagle_ rose from the hidden valley it had been tied down in. It rose as if eager for combat against its great nemesis. The bosun yelled out and then started into the old national anthem of the royal Tudors. Flying as quickly as the wind and their windstones would allow, they soon came upon the battlefield where the _Lexington_ reigned.

The Tristain ships fired in savage retaliation, but they were but battered wrecks, engulfed in fire. The Reconquistia fleet was hurt, but in no real danger as their battleship kept close enough to finish them all off. The rest of the fleet was busy ferrying men and arms down from the floating island off in the distance.

"Fire the bow cannon! Let the bastards know that we are not going to let them have their way this day!" Von Klyde roared out.

With a boom of rolling thunder, the Eagle lent its fury and energy to the ebbing battle.

"Captain! Something is happening to their dragon knights," the first mate of the _Eagle_ shouted, pointing at the distant flyers.

The Albion dragon roared and pumped its wings at the figures flying at them. Flames licked from its lips.

Sheila raised her right hand, her silver pistol leveled at the dragon. Her left arm was wrapped around Louise's waist even as she in turn had her arms around her familiar's neck.

The dragon screamed in pain as magically enhanced bullets tore into its neck and head, sending it tumbling to the ground. The rider was quick to levitate with a swish of his wand, only to start falling as bullets tore into him.

"Sorry," the demigoddess called out as she slipped the pistol back into its shoulder holster under her left arm, jostling Louise a little bit.

"Watch it," Derflinger complained. "Why aren't you using me?" The sword being bumped around as the LAW rocket was pulled off her back.

"Because charging an army with a sword sounds like a terrible way to die," she replied acridly.

"I agree," Louise added as she put her wand into her left hand to start to awkwardly start to cast one of her 'void grenade' spells at another dragon that was getting closer. With the aviator goggle on, it was easy to see even in the high wind.

That dragon also roared in pain, but she had missed a direct blast. Even so, its rider turned him away to flee from the strange magic.

Hundreds of feet below them floated the _Lexington_, still unloading fury at the swiftly moving _Eagle_. Canons fired back and forth in massive roars of explosions.

Sheila was doing something that was very hard to do with one hand and making it look easy as she flipped open the cap of the rocket launcher, extending the blastback tube with a one-handed flip-grab. She had it sighted and armed, with it held up to her right eye. Her left hand was aching again, as the Gandalfr runes fed her the exact information on the weapons charge and range.

"All right. I'm going to try and take out its keel," she called out to Louise. "It will be very loud!" She depressed the large trigger on top of the rocket launcher, sending it shooting off at the ship over three hundred feet below and in front of them.

With a massive boom, it shattered the back portion of the ship, sending the _Lexington _staggering.

On the _Eagle_ there was a shout of victory as the battleship started wallowing in the air, no longer able to control its lateral movement correctly. The lithe ship moved to cross the _Lexington's_ T, unloading broadside after broadside into the doomed ship's front. After several furious minutes of cannon fire, a hit to the battlship's blackpowder finished it off. Its explosion rained down fragments for hundreds of yards and sent the soldiers below scrambling with shouted screams of terror.

"All right, Louise. Now to force that army to surrender! Let's use your largest attack on that group in the back," Sheila said into Louise's ear. The spent LAW rocket was slung back over her shoulder as Derflinger was back in her hand. She floated closer to the army.

"We're too far," Louise complained as she started to go over the runes she would need.

"No, we aren't. You can't miss the ground," her familiar countered. She deflected an arrow with Derflinger that some prodigious archer had managed to reach their height. It looked like he had a heavy recurve bow that he was powering by his massive shoulders and arms.

"Ha! You can't hurt my partner!" the sword crowed as it blocked a second arrow.

"I'm protecting Louise," Sheila told the sword fiercely. "Not myself."

The long chant of runes finally completed, birthing a bright light ten feet above the new flag of Albion. I expanded while glowing brighter, then suddenly contracted to a mere speck before exploding into a massive shockwave that made a three hundred foot wide crater of dirt and shattered bodies. Beyond that crater were hurt and maimed soldiers, staring in shock at the floating destroyers above the army.

"Does anyone want to speak for your army of unconditional surrender?" Sheila called out loudly.

"Damn you Tristainians!" shouted a rattled noble, sending a blast of fire towards the two floating girls, sputtering out when it was intercepted by the aged blade.

A blinding bolt of lightning struck from the blue sky, instantly incinerating the noble.

"Does anyone _else_ wish to speak for your army?" the demigoddess called out as she fought back a feeling of weakness.

"Surrender, lest we give you no quarter when you are ran to ground," Louise orderd in a slightly trembling voice.

Swords and spears clattered to the ground.

The blonde scion pointed Derflinger at a brutish looking fellow that was divesting himself of many different weapons. "You, gather the nobles' wands and bring them here."

High above, the rest of the fleet from Albion fled back to the island as the _Eagle_ floated over the defeated army. The crew on their ship were cheering loudly.

It was a moment that became legend.

* * *

Princess Henrietta pulled her horse to a halt at the head of the calvery of Mage Knights. The army snaked behind her on the road to La Rochelle, fierce and ready to battle for their lands.

"Your highness! The fleet from Albion looks to be retreating," called out an keen sighted young noble. "All except that one."

"That is the Eagle, so it is on our side," she replied. "It appears that we have somehow won the day." She sat down back into her saddle and led the way to the top of the next rise.

What lay beyond them was the shattered remains of two battles. Sailors battled fires on the nearly gutted Tristain fleet, but it was the remains of the three thousand men army that was sitting on the ground, bereft of weapons under the guns of the last pride of Albion's prince.

Cardinal Mazarin blanched as he saw the fields of destruction and massive crater. "What in the name of the Founder happened here?"

"It appears Louise did not underestimate her power," the princess said, her dark hair flowing in the wind. "And her familiar looks fierce enought to take on that army by herself."

"Your orders, your highness?" called out the new captain of the Gryphon Knights.

"Take charge of this field of battle, captain. It appears we have won, so let us take what is ours by the grace of the Founder."

Off in distant La Rochelle, a galleon took off into the wind and lifted higher into the sky. The captain looked off in the direction of the columns of smoke.

"The battle appears to be over, captain," the first mate called out as he examined the scene through a spyglass with his younger eyes.

"And with the ships of Albion fleeing, it appears they were the losers. It seems Tristain had an ace or two up their sleeves," the captain muttered. He turned to his only paying passenger. "It should be safe enough to travel then, Miss Maddie. The extra money for a fast journey will be well used."

Matilda, also known as the thief Fouquet, nodded as she studied the far off battle. "I'm sure my husband would appreciate the efforts you are taking to get us safely to his homeland," she said with feigned sadness as she ran her hand along the edge of the casket.


	4. Between the Sea and the Sky

It had been a week since the abortive invasion by Albion and a procession was riding down the rode between Tristain (the city) and Tristain Academy. The princesses' carriage was at the head of the column of mage knights as gryphons and manticores flew over head for security.

The Albion navy had returned that next morning after their first surprising defeat, but after Sheila and Louise crippled and captured two more ships and killed six more dragons and their riders, they had retreated to the floating island. The battle on the field of Tarbes was becoming quite famous.

"I'm not sure I like that," Princess Henrietta said finally from her seat in the carriage as she looked out onto the countryside. She was in her blue and white traveling dress.

"It is expected, your highness. And by negotiating for their return to their lands in Albion, it shows that you have Tristain's well-being and protection in mind while you know how to play by rules they understand. It sends a message that you can be lenient, but that there are costs to invading your country," Sheila was explaining. "Hostages and ransom are a time honored means of exacting the cost of war from the loser. And if we do end up invading and conquering Albion, it sends a message that if we win, we are willing to play by those same rules of nobility and war."

"What does that mean exactly?" Louise asked from her seat next to Cardinal Mazarin.

Surprisingly, it was the cardinal that spoke up. "It means that if you do conquer their lands, that you will expect a tithe or bribe after the war, but that you do not intend to kill them all."

"Those same rules do allow you to take hostages from those that instigated the war on you. And that's probably the best outcome, if you play it right," the scion explained as she nodded to the churchman.

"You would think taking someone's family hostage would make thing worse," Louise said, looking a little confused.

The princess did not look happy with the thought either.

"It depends on how they are treated, my mage. While they may be hostage to force good behavior from your enemies, if you treat them right they may end up being the central part of future allies." Sheila was sitting across from Louise and at Henrietta's side, so could see forward. "In fact, you can phrase things so that they have the thread-bare excuse that they sent their children abroad to study with your royal tutors and at your academy. That way they can save face, but they know that it they try to attack that there would be costs. But that is rather far ahead of ourselves for now."

"Yes, I see. So it appears I must send for a negotiator to parley for the captured nobles." The princess turned away from the view outside. "They are quite upset with your familiar, as you killed the only son of an important count."

"He was trying to rally his men. I think he was about to order them all to attack us when Sheila demanded their surrender," the Void Mage explained.

"And how did you cow that army?" Mazarin asked with a sniff, his too thin features looking more pinched than normal.

Louise looked over to Sheila helplessly, wanting to ask a question.

"She cast a Void spell that we have been developing," the scion answered in a soft and nonthreatening manner.

The old cardinal eyes opened wide and then narrowed in anger. "You dare claim that she knows the lost element of magic; Void?"

"Louise, if you would open up the Founder's Prayerbook?" Sheila said stiffly.

Henrietta pursed her lips as her childhood friend pulled out the blank book. She could not hold back a gasp as Louise set her hand with the ring of the water-ruby upon the book and seemed to concentrate, causing words to appear. It was a trick she had figured out from watching Sheila manipulate the book.

"The Founders prayers have been revealed," Louise said reverently. "This one is a spell to dispel all magics. I used it to dispel the magics animating the dead butler that tried to assassinate myself and Prince Wales." In actuality, she had used the new runes to cast it much faster than the two minute chant that was written here. In this carriage here, there were no secrets of the prince to be kept.

"I do hope he recovers from the attack soon," Henrietta said with much emotion in her voice.

Mazarin was staring at Louise as if she was a poisonous serpent. "How is this possible?"

"Before this year in school, I was known as 'The Zero' because I had zero skill in casting any magic. Only explosions and such would happen, even with the simplest of levitation charms. Sheila, my familiar I summoned at the beginning of this school year, believes it is because I only have the magic of the Void. Without any other elements, no one knew how to train me." Louise looked very small and lost, as she remembered her past year. This year had been much improved since she had summoned her familiar.

"So you think you are void and you summoned a human familiar... the Gandalfr." Mazarin's eyes were closed as he digested the matter. "Let me see your runes that bound you as a familiar," he demanded of Sheila.

She patiently held out her left hand. As the cardinal was looking over the runes, she put her right hand upon the strangely quiet sword Derflinger, alighting the runes with magical power. A power that no longer burned in pain her since she had her vision of Louise's attack.

"These are the runes of the Gandalfr," Mazarin said finally, looking shocked. "Your story holds much greater weight. You have a great ideal to live up to, young Louise de la Valliere."

The carriage came to a halt as the guards called out along the procession. Sheila stepped out first to assist first Henrietta then Louise out. She slipped Derflinger over her shoulder as the cardinal exited.

"Your highness is as pretty as a spring flower," Old Osmond called out, kneeling deeply in front of the staff and rows of students. "Would you care to rest after your trip or would you wish to see the prince?"

"I wish to see the prince as soon as possible," Henrietta said firmly.

The old, bearded mage nodded and stood to guide her to the main tower and far up to the utmost reaches. After hiking up several winding stairs and through locked doors, they finally arrived. "We moved him here and have had a guard on him the entire times."

And indeed, one of the teachers was present, bowing deeply to the princess.

The door opened to a cramped room, showing the pale and bandaged figure that still lay on the bed unmoving.

"He has not awoken?" the princess asked of Osmond.

"Alas, he has not. The poisons appear to have afflicted him heavily and taken a heavy toll on his body," the old square mage said.

"He's fallen into a coma," Sheila said in a low, horrified manner. It appeared he had survived the poison and was recovering physically. But a coma was always a tricky thing. Her magical powers did not work at that level yet, as there did not appear to be anything physically wrong with his brain. "He might wake up tomorrow. Or," she admitted, "he might never wake. It would be best if he has someone that is willing to visit and talk to him regularly."

Henrietta laid her hand upon his cheek. "I wish to see the wound."

Mazarin coughed. "I should visit with Old Osmond here about matters."

The old man nodded, guiding the important churchman out.

Louise moved to stand near to the queen, trying to lend her a metaphorical shoulder to lean on as Sheila removed the wrappings. In the demigoddess's mind, she was using this as a test of character.

"Oh, to wound him so," the princess said, tears leaking down her face to splash on the blanket. "Yet I love him more, now that he is so close and yet so far away."

"I was rushed them and had to cauterize the wound to destroy the poison in the flesh. In truth, it was but a small cut. Even that small amount of poison nearly killed him," Sheila said softly. She laid her hand down on the ugly burn, wiping it away with a small brush off from her hand. "I can mend that easily enough, at least."

Henrietta stared at the clean features of her love, then snapped up to look at Sheila in the eyes. "What are you? I am the most powerful water mage that I know of and have amazing healing powers... and what you did is _impossible._"

Sheila narrowed her eyes, then bowed at the waist. "A moment please." She checked the door to the cramped room, finding just a guard and the teacher.

"Louise?" Henrietta asked queryingly.

"It is her place to say, your highness. If your order me to tell you, I will. But I think she just wanted to make sure we are not overheard." The younger mage leaned up against the wall, her hands wrapped around her abdomen as if to hug herself.

"My mage is correct, your highness. While I am not normally adverse to sharing this information, I fear that if it got around that it would cause problems between myself and your church," the demigoddess said softly. "Louise summoned me from the underworld where I fought to recover a stolen relic of my mother, Athena Parthenos. She is a goddess, you see, of wisdom and war. And I am her half-human daughter." It was probably more complicated than that, as she suspected she was actually an adopted scion. But there were godly magics that could _make _Athena her mother to Fate itself.

"The daughter of a goddess? No wonder... That explains so very much. It would take a very powerful mage to summon a familiar like that. The old stories do state that Gandalfr was the Founder's most powerful familiar." Henrietta looked shocked to her core. "And the Church would definitely not be happy if that came to light. What a heavy burden you have given me, Sheila Henderson."

"She is most loyal, only asking for respect, Henrietta," Louise said shyly. "She was the one that first said I had a great power. Now even the simple magics are becoming easy to do."

"Then you have my thanks as the dear childhood friend of Louise." She sighed as she held Wales' hand to her bosom, then leaned down to kiss him. "Do what you can for my love, but I must return to the palace. There is that coronation that you convinced me to go through in a week."

"You will be a great queen, your highness. And your people need to see that they have a strong leader," Louise said brightly.

Henrietta smiled, feeling a bit of relief that she had such great supporters.

* * *

Oliver Cromwell blinked his eyes from the brilliant light that covered the body of the Mage Knight Wardes. "Arise, my loyal servant."

"Your majesty," Wardes said in a flat tone as he sat up out of his casket.

"Truly the power of your magic is amazing." And Matilda had seen the leader of Albion palm a very interesting ring. Most priests were usually _not_ mages. Perhaps he only had a magic item. Her heart started to plot to take such a invaluable item for her own.

"Wardes, I must know of Louise and her familiar," the man who was effectively king of Albion demanded. "Our navy and army were actually stopped by just the two of them for a while.

"Louise was my betrothed before my death. It had been decided by her parents that the third daughter and an expensive dowry would be given to myself, an up and coming mage knight. She claims to know Void magic, but I heard from her school that she had problems casting magic before now. She summoned a Gandalfr. Sheila is more of a mystery. She suspected me before we had even met. I believe she used me to discover who were the member of the Reconquistia within Albion."

"Before? Did you discover how?" Cromwell asked harshly. The loss of those patriots (as he saw them) had hurt his efforts to invade the weakest nation on the continent.

"No."

"Continue." Cromwell sat himself down on the edge of the cart. They were in a quiet corner of the Tower of Londonium's courtyard.

"Sheila is capable of unhuman feats. She can run faster than a horse and can survive being hit by my Lightning Storm. She can call upon lightning bolts and even physically capture them. She carries a sword that can dispel magic to some degree. This sword is intelligent and can actually speak. She is so fast that even I, known as Wardes the Lightning for my speed, was nothing before her own quickness."

"You make it sound like she is a damned elf," the churchman grumbled aloud.

Matilda coughed. "Sheila was the one who captured me originally. So I can add something, your highness." At his nod, she continued. "She can see in the dark better than most people can under the noon sun. She seems to be fairly intuitive and smart, but I had barely met her." The pretty faux-blonde shrugged her shoulders at that.

"A gandalfr of such power and a void mage that can make such large craters multiple times. That's a very dangerous combination, isn't it, Sheffield?" Cromwell said over his shoulder.

The woman nodded as she stepped out of a shadow. "We may have to deal with the mage directly. Once the familiar is no longer bonded, it will be a simple matter to kill her."

* * *

Louise blocked the thrust of her foes wand while chanting her light attack spells. With a quick riposte, she pointed her wand in Kirche's face and released her 'flash-bang' spell. It lived up to its name, blinding and deafening both of them.

"Damn it, Valliere!" the Germanian noble complained as she stumbled around on the grass under the overcast sky.

Tabitha looked up from her book where she was seated in a nook made of her curled up dragon. With an almost imperceptible shrug, she went back to her reading.

Louise jabbed out desperately at her red-headed nemesis, poking her in the shoulder.

"Point to Louise, though that would have only wounded Kirche lightly," Sheila called out as she shook her own head from the flash. There were disadvantages at times to have more sensitive senses. "Point and match."

"What? Drat," Kirche complained. "It's because she so small and fast." This had not been her best idea, but the chance to duel with Louise had been too good to pass up. Who would have thought that the smaller strawberry-blonde would actually be _good_ at dueling. "Where did you pick this up?"

"Sheila has been teaching me. She saw that traitor Wardes and... how did you devise how to duel like this?" Louise asked as she blinked the spots out of her eyes.

"If its designed for use in melee, I was literally born to wield it. The Gandalfr runes actually seem to amplify that a little bit, extending it to all weapons. Even heavy weapons like the Zero Fighter uses," Sheila explained. "From there it was fairly easy to figure out ways to practice-"

Fat drops started to drop from the sky, signaling the start of a summer rain storm.

With a shriek, both red-heads rushed to the main entrance, covering their heads. Tabitha had Sylphid use her wing as an umbrella as she slowly walked to the entrance herself, still reading the book on water and healing.

Sheila closed her eyes and lifted her head. Ever since she had started to learn the powers of the sky, she had felt a kinship with rain.

"Sheila! Come on," Louise called out in complaint. "I want to change before supper."

Sheila trotted over faster than a normal person could run. "Fine, fine. Let's go then."

Dinner was a pleasant affair of pasta with chicken, with a light salad of greens. She scoped out what she considered her 'competition' around the room.

Louise noted that Montmorency was still snubbing Guiche, but she figured that was an affair (hah!) of his own making. They were each talking to their own friends, while Guiche _tried_ to get her to forgive him.

Kirche, of course, the busty girl that had men drooling over her, sat talking to a group of boys. How she did not end up pregnant and sent home was beyond Louise as the boys hung on her every word. Her friend Tabitha was sitting at her side, calmly reading a book while she carefully ate.

"What's wrong, Louise?" Sheila asked at her side. Ever since they had returned from the Plains of Tarbes, she had been 'allowed' to eat with the nobles.

"Nothing," she lied quickly. She quickly waved a servant over to bring her a small cake.

The scion looked at her mage in confusion, quickly looking over the room to where Louise's acquaintances were sitting, chatting merrily with their friends. "Don't worry, I'll always be here for you," she said as she reached over with her right hand and it a squeeze of reassurance.

That got a smile from Louise as it did exactly what it was supposed to, reassure her that she had worth. Silently she finished up her cake, noting that Sheila really was paying close attention the entire time.

As they were getting up, Sheila stopped to talk to Siesta at the entrance to the hall. "You made it back from Tarbes finally," she said to the slightly older girl.

"That's right. I heard from some of the boys that watched the battle that you and Louise were the heroes of the battle," the maid said in wonder.

"Well, my little heroine would probably like a bath after her long day. If it would not be too difficult, could I be alloowed to bring a tub and water up to her room?" the scion asked with a smile.

"Of course. But we don't have anyone available to bring it and the water up. She should be able to heat up the water with her magic, of course," Siesta said with her own smile. She then frowned for a second. "I- May I ask for a favor?"

"You can ask, but I'm not going to promise anything until I know what you are asking."

"If you get that zero fighter flying... could you fly it over Tarbes? It... would mean a lot to my family." And a lot to her if her grandfather could finally be vindicated.

"Sure. I'm positive that a lot of people would love to see it fly. I'll have to talk to Professor Colbert tomorrow about that. "Let me go tell Louise to head up and prepare for a private bath."

* * *

Louise sat on her four poster bed under the soft lamplight, kicking her legs as she waited for Sheila to arrive. There was a bit of an ache everywhere from her dueling practice. That was something that she did enjoy, standing up for herself against someone. In fact, her rivalry with the von Zerbst had mellowed her out a bit about the girl. They were almost friends these days.

"Louise? Can you open the door? My hands are a bit full," Sheila called from outside her doorway.

With a swish of her wand (something she had been dying to try for a while) the door clicked and opened. The strawberry-blonde blinked her eyes, just to make sure she was in deed seeing Sheila carrying a full tub of water. "You did not make a mess on the way up here, did you?"

"Of course not. Not a single drop of water on the ground," the scion replied with a grin you could almost hear. She set the tub down carefully and true to her word, did not spill a single drop. She then closed the door. "Siesta said you should be able to heat the water yourself."

"That right," Louise exclaimed, trying to remember the runic phrase. Most of the other students were very proficient with this sort of casual magic, but she had just not had a lot of practice. Very carefully, she used the universal magic spell and like her levitation spell finally, it worked.

Never much for modesty in her own room, Louise started to divest herself of her clothing. She was a bit surprised when Sheila took of her uniform coat and the strange shirt she had arrived in this world in.

Sheila was down to her panties as Louise slipped into the four foot long copper tub full of hot water. She whetted a washcloth and applied a little soap. "Here, I can scrub your back and wash your hair."

"Thanks. I heard Siesta ask something about the Zero Fighter?" the mage said as she luxuriated in the hot water.

Nodding, Sheila replied, "She was wanting us to prove to her village that the plane can fly." She was carefully scrubbing suds all across the other girl's back and shoulders. "Hold out your arm." She continued to scrub the whole arm closely, then switched to the other arm.

"I would like to fly in the Zero Fighter under its own power at least once, I think." Louise sighed in contentment as she leaned back in the tub and carefully lifted her legs up to be scrubbed. "You are being very nice," she said with a hint of suspicion.

"I figured you would like to be pampered a bit after the hard day of school and then dueling afterward. You've been working very hard," the scion replied semi-truthfully. She finished Louise's legs. "Sit up now a bit."

"You don't have to worry about my front," the mage said self-consciously.

"You are fine," Sheila said softly, cleaning her her shoulders and chest. "Close your eyes." She then carefully scrubbed her face. "You would probably like the make up that exists in my world. So many colors and choices than you have here."

"Your turn," Louise ordered as they finished cleaning her body. "You are my familiar, after all."

"Um, thanks." The demigoddess was not sure what to make of this, though she had to admit that she liked it.

The rain pattered off the window, coming down more heavily as Louise scrubbed the other girl.

"You don't have a scar, even from the poisoned dagger that Albert used on you," Louise noted in a bemused fashion. "Your hair is almost to your shoulders, but looks very ragged."

"I really need to get it cut. It was getting long before I ended up here," she admitted. "I usually keep it very short in case i need to fight."

"I think you look better with it longer," Louise decided as she shampooed and scrubbed the shorter-haired blonde.

"Well, I should at least get it trimmed."

"I'm glad you are about my... development," the mage admitted as she rinsed Sheila's hair. She saw a flash of unhappiness. "What is wrong?"

"This is probably where I'm going to be stuck forever unless I shape my body with my power." She stepped out of the tub and patted herself down with a towel. "My band of scions was being sent to the Yazata's realm, but it was not safe as it is entrapped by Zrvan, a titan that is or controls time. I had learned that if you wandered through the barrier, either a moment or a century could pass."

Louise nodded carefully. This sounded very fantastic. "So you did not want to be trapped for a century?"

"The chance _was_ there, so we were going to split up into two groups. I did a small quest of my own beforehand to distill some ambrosia and an apple of Idun, to learn a secret of eternal youth. And it worked, even if I had not needed it. My groups journey only took a day." She shook her head. "The other group aged thirty years. And one of them had not taken any preventions and had become quite old."

"So you are going to be like that forever?" Louise asked as she watched Sheila dump the water out into the rain, cooling the room.

"Well, I can make minor changes now. A little bit of height or coloration, but nothing very much. I need to practice more," she replied as she carefully set the brass tub down.

"Try to make yourself look like me!" Louise exclaimed as she bounced on the bed like a little girl.

"I suppose." With a shake of her hair, it suddenly lengthened until it reached past the middle of her back while picking up a reddish hue. A blink of her eyes changed them from blue-green.

"You don't really look like my sisters or I do though," Louise noted. "You are harder with less curves." The demigoddess had muscles that most men did not, if you looked closer. Yet somehow she made it look all right.

"Oh, fine. One last change," Sheila said, padding herself with a bit of baby fat that she had worked off of her body with her rigorous athleticism. That was about the best she could get of womanly curves. She slipped into her plain white panties.

"Perfect!" Louise said with a happy smile.

"Come on, now it is time for a massage to help with your stiff muscles." Sheila divested Louise of her towel and had her lay on the bed to start rubbing in a baby oil that she had purchased from Montmorency.

"Your hands really are divine," Louise mumbled into her pillow as all of her aches disappeared.

"I'm glad you think so," was the tart reply.

Louise was feeling like putty and more than half asleep. "I wonder..."

"Oh?" She continued to undo any knots. Unlike a normal masseuse, her fingers did not become tired at this little bit of work.

"What do you really think of me? Am I just something broken you are fixing? From your stories, its obvious that you could try to leave and get back to your world. And there is that war among the gods that you are fighting?" Louise said finally.

"I care for you. I'm actually surprised at that," Sheila replied without deeply considering the words. She had never cared for anyone like Louise, more caught up in causes and herself, if she had to admit that. She had figured out a way back to her world through the underworld of the Founder, but she could not bring Louise without extending companionship to her. And she would not likely wish to leave her world, even for a while.

"Don't make it sound like it was so hard," Louise said bitingly, now wide awake. "I know I am not well liked and have a personality that is hard to stomach." Her stomach tensed in remembered frustration from last year, as she became the butt of more and more 'The Zero' jokes. She had responded in the only way she could, with words and poise.

"No, that isn't what I was trying to say. It's obvious you were having some problems with your magic, but you never gave up. I always had the best tutors, telling me I could be the best. My step-parents were always _forcing_ me to be the best. I don't think I could have dealt with failures like you were forced to," Sheila replied truthfully.

"Will I always be defined by my failures?" the mage asked bitterly. "Even you thought I was a failure. You are just here because of the familiar ritual." Her tone was very flat and bitter.

"Louise, I really do care for you." She nudged Louise onto her side so she could see her disbelieving face. "I-" How could she express this? Did she dare?

"Well?" the other girl asked petulantly. "I can take any truth you will say. Do not lie! This is an order from your master!"

That sparked a momentary ire, but Sheila knew that it was just Louise hiding her insecurity. "Fine." She turned her head slightly and then kissed her mage hard upon mouth for a long ten second. Letting go, she let the taste of the girl linger on her tongue. "I think I've fallen in love with you-"

"OUT!" Louise shrieked hysterically as she pushed Sheila away. "Leave me alone!" She stopped for a second, seeing the heart-broken look.

Sheila disappeared out the door, carrying her t-shirt with her, faster than the eye could follow. She flew past Kirche so fast that the red-head and her familiar Flame were not sure what they had seen other than it _looked_ like a streaking (naked!) Louise moving as fast as her familiar normally could.

Looking down at her Flame, she asked it, "I probably don't want to know, do I?"

It just looked at her in confusion, then rubbed its lizard head up against her leg.

With a shrug, she finished walking to her room next that lay next to her sometime-friend and mostly-rival Louise. With a wave of her wand, the door opened just as a disheveled Louise slammed open her own door like a boorish commoner. "Oh, so that wasn't you?" she asked the girl, noting her pulling on a cloak quickly.

"Did you see where Sheila went?" Louise demanded with her wand out.

"Up that way," Kirche said, pointing towards the stairs that led to the roof.

Louise took off at top speeds, with Kirche following as she emitted a sigh.

On the roof, Sheila was standing in the drenching rain, her t-shirt soaked through and barely keeping her modesty with its dark color. The rain hid her tears as she stared into the dark of the storm over the dark, drenched castle.

"What are you doing?" Louise demanded as she shivered. It was not really that cold, but it was very wet.

"Leaving you alone," the demigoddess replied in a soft and very flat monotone.

"How long are you going to stay there?" her mage asked finally, her pride unwilling to bend.

Sheila did not reply.

"You will get cold and get sick," Louise grumbled aloud.

Behind her in the doorway, Kirche watched from the shadows around the curving top of the tower. That almost looked like Sheila there, but with longer hair and not wearing any pants or a skirt.

"You don't have to worry. I can survive unprotected in arctic conditions. This doesn't bother me at all," came the reply, her back still to Louise.

"Well, I will stay with you until you come in. It's a masters duty to care for her familiar," Louise blustered as she moved up to sit on the battlement.

"But you said..." Sheila was not sure how to proceed. She had been raised strictly and really did not socialize with her peers. Nor had she dated any boys, as she had been fighting against the Titans since she had turned eleven. "It's obvious you don't care for me like that."

"It surprised me," Louise countered as she shivered in the rain. With her hair drenched, she actually looked much more like her familiar than before. "I don't know what to think, but I do not want you hurting."

"Like I said, this rain doesn't really bother me."

"But that doesn't mean I did not hurt you. Please... come back inside."

Kirche blinked as she finally figured out what had happened. She reached down and pushed on the muzzle of Flame to get him to start to back up and walk down the stairs. "I guess we will leave the lovebirds to talk it out. Not something I would have thought would happen to Louise." Perhaps she should seduce the familiar. No... seduce the demigoddess. That had... possibilities.

Louise had taken a hold of her familiar's hand and was tugging on it to drag her. She knew that if Sheila did not want to move, she would not. But she followed easily back down the two flights of steps and into her room. The drenched mage started to strip out of her wet clothes.

"Let's go to bed," Louise said while blushing.

Sheila slipped out of her drenched clothing and put it into the pile of wet things. "Those aren't going to dry by morning."

"I can do magic now, you know," Louise said primly as she found her wand and waved it at the clothes. They were quickly dried and then folded.

"You could always do magic. You just needed to find the right type," Sheila said with a soft smile.

They both climbed into the bed. Louise snapped her finger to turn off the lamp.

"I don't bite," the mage said as she realized that her familiar was staying as far away as possible. "Just... let me get used to the idea slowly."

They settled together like they had been sleeping for weeks, casually draping hands over the other under the blankets.

* * *

Sheila had tied her longer hair back for breakfast, confusing many of the girls who this person was sitting next to Louise. Montmorency was the quickest on the uptake.

"Sheila? Louise's familiar? How did you get such long hair?" the perfume designer asked as she held her own fancy curls carefully, as if protecting them.

"That's one of my abilities. Louise thought I should try it longer," she replied carefully. "I'm not really sold on it, as it will probably just get in the way during combat."

"You should be thinking of more than combat," her mage noted as she picked up a breakfast croissant and a bowl of jelly. "What are you doing to be doing during my practicals today?"

"Well, I've finished tuning up the Zero. We're just waiting for the fuel, which Professor Colbert said we should have by the weekend. So I think I'm going to finish up the short-wave radio. That way you can call the palace any time you want to," Sheila replied while grabbing her own croissant.

"That sounds too fantastical, but I'm not going to say it's impossible. You've proven that there is little that isn't possible," Louise said to her with a grin.

That was when Kirche walked up behind Sheila leaned over to hug Sheila's head to her bosom. "Good morning, Louise! Sheila!"

"Uh, what are you doing?" Sheila's muffled voice came from within the hug.

"I'm just a cheerful person and _very_ affectionate," the red-head said. "I do like the long hair. I think it suits you."

The main doors to the hall opened up with a thud, admitting Old Osmond, Professor Colbert and a priest who looked like he was in his thirties, wearing his hair with a tonsure of blond hair and cap as was the wont of the Church of the Founder Brimir.

The old Square Mage was ambling by when he seemed to note their presence. "Ah, Miss von Zerbst, Miss Valliere and Miss Henderson, how pleasant to see you. This is Deacon de la Gregoria. Cardinal Mazarin thought that our school could use the enlightenment of the Founder," he said in a perfectly pleasant voice.

Sheila carefully pried Kirche's hands off of her head.

Louise had stood up and bowed slightly, followed by most of the students, though Sheila and Kirche were a bit slow because of the entanglement.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, deacon," Louise said very politely.

The deacon's unfriendly blue eyes seemed to pierce her to her soul. "Likewise," he said in a cool tone.

Sheila had slipped into a parade rest, studying him very closely. She took a small sniff, memorizing the smells around her. Incense, sweat and dried blood?

"Are you related to the de la Gregoria of Tristain or Germania?" Kirche asked in her most vapid manner. "I do have a few relatives to the Germania side."

"I'm from the cadet branch of the Tristain side, Miss von Zerbst," he replied pleasantly. "So I do not think we are closely related."

"Our faculty dines on the upper level," Colbert said in a tense voice to change the subject. Then he slapped his forehead. "But of course you would remember, as you graduated from dear Tristain Academy."

With a pained look, de la Gregoria said to Colbert, "You really have changed, Brother Colbert."

"Come along. I think you'll find our cuisine some of the finest in Tristain," Osmond said with a laugh. "Even I can eat whatever I want."

"My, that actually told us quite a bit, didn't it?" Sheila said in a soft tone that only Louise, Kirche and Tabitha (who had been sitting next to Kirche almost the entire time) could hear.

"I have to admit I don't understand," Louise said. "I mean, he just seemed to be an old student brought in by the Cardinal."

"Most of the clergy can't cast magic, Louise. It's the place to send unwanted sons and daughters that do not have magic," she replied. "So he and Colbert were part of an order that might require magic." An inquisitor, but she did not want to mention that-

"Flamme der Reinigung or, as we would say in the west here, the order of the Flames of Purification. The Inquisition," Kirche said as she tapped her finger to her chin. "It appears you have caught the attention of the church, Sheila."

"Actually, it is most likely that Louise is being scrutinized, as she uses the same Void magic that the Founder Brimir used. A single void mage reshaped Halkeginia and founded the current royal dynasties." Sheila's blue-green eyes had taken a hard edge as she thought furiously.

"Trouble," Tabitha said as she read her book.

"That's probably the biggest understatement I've heard in a while," Sheila replied as she strained her ears.

Up on the upper tier, Deacon de la Gregoria sat stiffly next to Old Osmond. "That was rather blatant, wasn't it Osmond? If you were going to give them a warning, you should have done it before I got here."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, deacon. I was just, oh, nudging them to realize the Founder's eyes are upon them. They are an excitable bunch and may startle you if they charge off on one of their adventures," the ancient mage said as he wrapped a napkin around his neck and beard. "The soufle is to die for."

"I will just have some plain toast and water."

"Still ever penitent, deacon?" Colbert asked softly.

"Yes, after all I do not run from my duties when they become... unpleasant."

"So, ah, Colbert, how goes the work on the flying machine?" Fergio the Damp asked to change the subject.

The _very_ bald professor actually did not look happy at that subject being brought up. "We should have the last of the distilled fuel ready to launch it soon."

"What is this? You have an artifact?" Gregoria asked... no demanded. He almost seemed incensed.

"Yes, a machine called the Zero Fighter. It is something from... very far away. Sheila says she knows how to fly it. We're going to try here in just a few days."

"The Gandalfr... I did not realize its magic would allow someone to control such... devices." The deacon was looking less and less happy as the conversation dragged on. "I do not know how you convinced the princess to not send Louise to Romalia and the Pope."

"She is a very valuable person to the princess and may be vital if we go to war with Albion," Old Osmond explained in a harder voice.

"I see. So it is because of her power."

Sheila snorted to herself. Like that wasn't why the Church was interested in her.

* * *

Louise looked at the box with its weird knobs and dials uncertainly. "This doesn't look much like the radio you took out of the airplane."

"It was made in a factory with a lot more resources behind it. I had to make do with vacuum tubes and what I could convince Guiche to fabricate with his earth magic." Not to mention several large clay barrels for lead batteries.

A few primitive light-bulbs were lighting up even as the speaker started to squeal. Then, with a hiss-snap, it started speaking. "This is Tristain Palace, speaking on the Radio Tube to Tristain Academy," a young man's voice called out.

"Tristain Palace, this is the Academy. We read you, over and out," Sheila said as she held the transmit button down.

"Your highness! It worked!" The radio was quiet for a long moment and then a different voice came on.

"This is Princess Henrietta of Tristain calling the Academy. Do you hear me?"

Sheila slid Louise into the seat. "This is Louise de la Valliere, I can hear you," she said excitedly through the huge microphone that looked almost like a dinner-plate on a stand with a cord going from it to the radio.

"My dear friend, this is so terribly exciting. Though I think General Romadas is more excited than I am." The princesses' voice was only a little distorted.

The demigoddess could well imagine. The strategic implications for war alone were immense.

The two old friends finished chatting after five minutes, not wishing to talk 'in public' so to speak.

Louise turned to Sheila. "That is quite astonishing. And you say this is common where you are from?"

"Yes, though it did take a while. Shall we go visit Prince Wales now?" Sheila asked as she stood up. There were in an empty room on the top floor of the tower (never popular because of the long trip up the stairs.)

The noble nodded, dashing out the door to head to the main tower. With a laugh, Sheila was just behind her the whole way. His room was all the way at the top of the tower, with two Mage Knights at the ready.

"Halt. Who goes there," Sgt. Bronsoni called out tiredly.

"It's Louise de la Valliere and her familiar," Louise called out promptly.

"And who is at your side?" the younger soldier there asked suspiciously.

"That _is_ her familiar, rookie. Well met, milady. Here to visit the prince?" the sergeant said as he pulled out a key and opened the door. "A maid is inside feeding and cleaning him."

And indeed, there was a young maid with slightly Asian features there, carefully feeding the unconscious prince a broth and massaging it down his throat.

"Medicine has little dignity for the patient," Sheila muttered, noting the crude diaper that the prince was wearing. "How are the exercises going?"

Siesta looked up. "Fine, I guess. I'm not sure that it is helping."

"It will help a lot. We just have to hope he wakes up. You've been using the music maker for him?" Sheila had been willing to give up her damaged smart-phone so that Wales could be aurally stimulated. It's not like it can call anyone here and charging it had been a neat trick.

"I still can't believe that small thing can do so much," Louise said as she looked at the half blurred screen. It had been damaged by the frost giant's freezing attack weeks ago. "Poor prince, my princess needs you."

* * *

The coronation had gone through, even as the wedding was put on indefinite hold. Germania had offered a limited alliance, as they had not wanted Tristain to look at attacking them and expanding their territory. Louise had been called to stand among the chevaliers of the princess and swear another oath upon the coronation to the new queen.

Sheila had been standing at attention, carefully noting the knights that failed to truthfully swear their loyalty.

"Sheila Henderson, step forth," Henrietta called out after she had finished accepting the oath of fealty from her last chevalier.

The scion walked forward and knelt on one knee. "Your majesty?"

"I would call thee to my orders of Chevalier also. How do you respond?" the dark-haired queen demanded with a soft smile.

Ichor thrummed in her veins as she slipped into the alien mindset as her mind thought furiously fast. "Your majesty honors me greatly, but I already have taken a bond with my mage as her familiar. I could only in good consciousness take upon this oath if it came through her, lest I be caught between conflicting loyalties," she replied carefully.

Several eyebrows (over half of them coming from some of the chevaliers that had just failed to swear their loyalty) arose at at declaration.

"That is wise. Chevalier Louise de la Valliere, step forward. This one states that her loyalty is to your first and not your queen? How would you clear this conundrum?" the young and beautiful queen asked.

"She is my familiar, my queen, so rightly speaks. Let me hold her oath to her in fealty to yourself and pass to you upon my death," Louise said as she too thought quickly.

"This is agreed." With that, the queen then quickly continued. "Do you so swear loyalty to me through your mage, upon death before dishonor of your mage?"

"I do, your majesty. Let my life be for your honor and my honor before the state of your kingdom," she continued.

"Then rise, Chevalier Sheila Henderson and take up your duties in defense of the realm." The queen then carefully sheathed the ceremonial sword and handed it to a noble at her side.

Louise was summoned from the ball afterward to the queen's private quarters, her familiar following along behind her. They both went to one knee, only immediately to be waved forward.

"Come, my friend. How do you think I did? I was not sure of the idea of reaffirming the oaths, but all advisers state it was brilliant, as it cemented that I am the new sovereign," the gentle queen said in excitement.

"Queen Henrietta, I should let you know that some of the people that swore loyalty to yourself were not fully truthful. I believe some are merely caught between their loyalties like I would have been between yourself and my mage. Others... I'm afraid they are only truly loyal to themselves or may be enemies."

The queen frowned at that as she looked at her hands clenched tightly on her lap. "I was afraid of that. But a good queen would use your talents to ferret out those that lied in their oaths of loyalty."

"Duke Vorcei de la Licerius caught on too, Henrietta. He seemed upset, but also a bit pleased from what I could see of his smile," Louise told her friend as she sat next to her on the divan.

"Then let me have those names, Chevalier Sheila, and I shall see what I must do." She did seem very saddened that she had to so so though.

* * *

"Kirche and Tabitha are gone from the school?" Louise asked on the last day of school for the week.

"They weren't at breakfast. And several of her boy-toys were lamenting that she was going to be gone," Sheila replied as she scooped up the glazed sweet peas to her plate from a bowl.

Louise seemed to concentrate very hard as she cut her chicken cordon bleu. "You don't think that she got in more trouble and will have to go to another academy, do you?"

"No, with both of them missing and none of the teachers asking, I expect that they may just have business off campus. They may be back before we know it." The scion of Athena frowned in consideration. It was _probably_ at Tabitha's behest, as Kirche would have announce what she was doing very loudly.

"So are we going to try to fly the Zero today?" Louise asked.

"Certainly. I've even made a seat for you in the back that you need to buckle up into.

Louise nodded as she tore into her food quickly. Her familiar laughed and then dug in to keep up.

An hour later and they were out on the grounds. Professor Colbert and Old Osmond were watching from the tower wall. Siesta had been told of the attempt herself, so was watching from the main tower as she saw them ready the plane.

Noting her familiar frowning, Louise asked, "What is wrong?" She was wearing a fur-lined leather jacket and the goggles again that made her look more like a pinup girl than a pilot.

"We'll need to go down the road a bit," the scion said, judging the distance between trees on either side of the dirt road. She pulled the chocks out from in front and behind the wheels and then lightly hopped up onto the wing. Switches were flipped and the throttle and choke were set. Hopping to the ground as Louise settled herself into the back seat, she gave her a thumbs up.

That gesture totally confused Louise, but she took it to mean everything was all right. With a yank of super-human muscles, the prop was spun fast enough to start the engine, which roared to full life for the first time in decades. Everyone in the school ran towards the noise as Sheila leaped while spinning into the pilot's seat.

She slid the glass canopy forward and then buckled herself into her seat. "Ready, Louise?"

"Ready!" she shouted back.

The plane was already moving, but Sheila taxied over to where she was planning to dash down the main road. She pushed the throttle quickly forward, making the engine scream to full life. Missing the edges of the gateway by mere inches on both sides, the plane started to lift, then bounced once. On the rebound, it roared into the sky.

With a single pass around the school, the old Zero was turned towards the capital, easily visible below them in the distance.

"It goes so fast!" Louise shouted. "This is amazing, though I wish it were quieter. I would rather fly with you alone."

"Thanks," Sheila called back. "Now hold on." She put the Zero into a light dive, picking up speed as she zipped over the city a mere fifty feet above the towers of the palace. They she came back around once, startling the responding manticore into throwing some of its tail-spikes at them, missing horribly.

"Now on to Tarbes!" the mage called out, wishing she could bounce in the seat.

Less than half an hour later, the Zero roared overhead the town, awakening it from its afternoon nap time of the weekend. Everyone came out and started to look around. The mayor suddenly pointed to the sky as the Zero banked around the edge of the city.

"Hold on, Louise, and look up!"

Louise turned a bit green as the sky became the ground and vice verse for a long moment. "What are you doing?" she shrieked in anger.

"Just a barrel-roll. Now watch this," she said as she pulled up on the stick and suddenly started climbing almost straight up. For a long second, the plane stalled at six thousand feet straight up, but Sheila had it rolling right on over and into a shallow dive with another barrel-row.

They made three turns around the town of Tarbes, then headed back to the academy where Sheila landed the plane quite handily.

"Thank you. Thank you," Siesta shouted as she ran from the nearest doorway of the Tower of Earth. "Did you fly to Tarbes?"

"We did. My familiar keeps her word and she said she would show your town and vindicate your family," the strawberry-blonde declared a bit haughtily.

Siesta grabbed Sheila in a tight hug and then did the same with Louise unthinkingly. Then she ran back to the school.

"That girl! What did she think she was doing?" Louise demanded in a shocked tone.

"Thanking you the only way she knows how, my mage. And was it really that horrible?" the scion asked, studying her closely.

"No, not at all. She should just not have been so familiar with me. I am a noble, after all."

Sheila looked off into the forest. "Are peasant children ever discovered to have magic?"

"I hear that peasants sometimes find an old wand and try to cast magic like they see mages do. And sometimes they get a reaction. They are usually taken in to one of the lower academies unless they are exceedingly gifted. Then Old Osmond might consider sponsoring them here, but that only happens once a decade." Louise gave an indifferent shrug as she removed the leather jacket and goggles. "They are usually found to be the bastards of a noble that took liberties. That does happen."

"Hmm. I wonder if the number of mages is slowly increasing." It would almost have to, Sheila thought to herself.

"Oh, there are Guiche and Montmorency-?" Louise looked a bit bemused at the antics as they walked between the towers to where the girl's dorm was located.

Guiche was following behind the short, blonde-curled girl who was holding her toad carefully.

"Please, my love! I have eyes only for you!" the foppish noble declared. "I am a new man! Let us wed and leave this place."

Montmorency looked slightly smug. "Tell me that you will not stray, that you are only mine!"

"Of course, my ever long lover! I am only yours. I love the earth you stand upon, your very visage of grace and poise. Even your element is far superior to my own," he gushed along.

"Louise," Sheila hissed out. "Something is terribly wrong, I think. Guiche de Gramont is not lying."

"So? He's always heartfelt that way," her mage noted.

"No, he's always insincere and lies, even if he's very smooth about it. He means every single word he's saying right now. It's just not him, yet it is. Something has really changed."

"Monmon does seem to be playing with his heart a bit harder than normal. That is unusual."

"How common are love spells and potions?" the scion asked suspiciously.

"Love potions are outlawed and carry a heavy fine if a mage is found to have used one on someone. Especially if a child come of the matter. I don't think I've ever heard of a spell though."

"And Montmorency is the prodigy of potion and medicine making." With that, she started to head over to catch up to them.

* * *

"What makes you think I did anything to Guiche?" the water mage asked, barely masking her nervousness. She had heard from Guiche, in his usual flowery way, that Sheila had defeated powerful orcs with just a sword and had her own magical powers of some sort. (Though she was sure that killing a Orc God had to be pure exaggeration.) And she had seen her call down lightning upon him during that old duel against him.

"Because he isn't lying anymore about his only having eyes for you," Sheila said flat out. "Everyone knows that he is a shameless flirt and his eyes are drawn to anything pretty."

"Yes, admit that you gave him that illegal potion," the strawberry-blonde made declared, pointing her finger at Montmorency accusingly.

"What if I had? It's just to teach him a lesson," the accused said, turning her head with a sniff.

"Should you learn a lesson from the Queen's Justice?" the scion asked as she arched an eyebrow from where she was leaning against Montmorency's four poster bed. "If you really mean it to just be a lessen, then you should be willing to remove it so he can _learn_ from it."

"It will wear off sometime," the potion maker declared as she looked into the devoted face of Guiche.

"Never, my love! My move is eternal," Guiche replied, finally noticing something of what his paramour had said. He was sitting at her feet, looking up at her in adoration where she sat on her bed.

"So annoying," Montmorency said, pushing his head down and out of the way.

"How long will the potion last?" Sheila asked from where she was leaning up against the bed.

"A month to a year. It depends on his strength of will," the water mage admitted.

"So the better part of a year then," the scion said, categorizing Guiche's will as not that strong. "That's unacceptable. There is an antidote?"

"Of course," the girl replied.

"Then it is obvious, you will have to cure him. That long is too much for a lesson," Louise demanded while pointing her finger at her old rival. "He might be a bit of a womanizer and a terribly flirt, but he does not deserve to be abused so. After all, he is one of my friends that fought against the traitors. That means he has some good in him."

"I can't believe he did such a thing," Montmorency declared.

"Even Kirche said he helped defeat Fouquet's giant golem, summoning many rose petals and then turning them into an oil with his alchemical magic." Which reminded Sheila, she would have to see if Louise now had any aptitude for that now that she had connected to her Void magic. "It was only through his alchemy, Tabitha's wind and Kirche's fire that it was defeated."

"Still, it would be too expensive," Montmorency declared.

"More than the fine to you and your family?" Sheila tapped her forefinger to her chin.

"And you might be expelled." Louise almost looked smug at that, ignoring the small glare from her familiar.

The water mage looked stricken at that. "Perhaps I could see about making the counter-potion then. It should only take a day or so."

"But my love, I'm fine," Guiche declared as he rubbed his cheek against her calf.

"Good! Then it's decided." Louise gave a firm nod.

* * *

"I'm really not sure how this contrived situation happened," Louise complained on Monday as they rode in a line on horse to Ragdorian Lake. She was dressed in a sensible, if fashionable, long dress of dark green and sitting side-saddle.

"You were the one that demanded I retrieve the Tears of the Water Spirit," Montmorency complained from her own gray horse where she was sitting in front of Guiche.

"And she is not really trained in combat or can travel on her own to retrieve them, so we came with her." Sheila sat up in her saddle and looked over the low ridge. "Well, that looks like a problem."

"What is?" Louise demanded from her roan.

"I thought the lake was further, Monmon darling?" the rose-wielder asked as he finally dragged his attention from the girl in front of him in his lap.

"This must be why there were no tears available for purchase, the water spirit is angry," Montmorency declared.

"Probably. Now _why_ is a better question." Sheila looked over to Louise who nodded back.

The water witch was a bit put out that everyone believed her so easily. Though it did allow her to not have to bring up the ignominy of her family's fallen fortune. "It's even overcome that entire village."

"Yes, a flood without a heavy rain. Definitely magical." Looking down to some of the half-submerged trees, Sheila called out, "You don't have to hide, goodman."

The 'goodman' came out behind a tree. "Oh, your magic spotted me?" a middle-aged farmer asked as he walked up the short hill.

"Something like that," Louise responded for her familiar. "Could you explain what has happened?"

"Near on two years ago and the water keeps rising. Something angered the water spirit and it just keeps rising," the farmer said, shrugging. "The local lord stays at the capital because he's not a country sort."

"That is unseemly to ignore his landed duties. I shall have to have words with him. What is his name?" Sheila asked with a hard edge of his voice.

"Um? Baron de la Dejurise isn't a bad sort, he just sort of ignores us a bit," the farmer explained.

"And in doing so let part of the realm fall into danger. How many people have become sick or moved away from his lands?" Louise asked as she saw where Sheila was going. A devout anger was growing in her mind.

"I couldn't say, though perhaps it is as you say. We just want to live our lives here, but the Water Spirit is quite moody at times so it is hard. But it won't talk to us, only speaking to nobles." The farmer clutched at his straw hat in his hand as he was obviously distressed.

"Well, we should be able to at least ask it what is going on," Sheila said as she thought. She dismounted her horse to lead it to a tree to tie it down.

After all the nobles dismounted, Guiche making an big fuss at helping Montmorency down. The farmer had casually wandered off while trying to not bring their attention back upon him.

Montmorency took out her familiar, startling Louise with its sudden appearance.

"FROG!" she screamed and hid behind her familiar, surprising Sheila greatly. She clutched Sheila's hand tightly. "So poisonous looking!"

"I think that type of frog is harmless, my mage." She gave a careful squeeze of assurance.

Montmorency had ignored the extreme reaction to her familiar. "Robin, I wish you to carry a message to the Water Spirit that we seek an audience due to our old alliance." Pricking her finger with a needle, she touched a small dot of blood to her familiar and then enchanted a spell.

That perked up Sheila, as she had not considered that there may be spell that could be cast on a familiar, like herself, that could be useful. Something to read up on when they got back to the academy.

The little yellow frog nodded and then leaped into the water. Montmorency looked quite pleased at her success. "Robin should bring the Water Spirit back if she can find that."

Sheila laid out a cloak at the edge of the lake so that Louise could sit comfortably. She sat next to her as they waited, watching the placid water as Montmorency pushed Guiche away who tried to do the same thing.

"It's here," Sheila said softly as roils and bubbles of water appeared nearly a hundred feet out in the water.

Everyone stood as a formless blob of water came closer to them as Robin, the frog, reappeared and hopped into her master's hand to be cuddled over.

"I am a Montmorency Margarita La Fere de Montmorency, who called upon you using under the old oath using the blood of my family to help you remember. Please respond in such a manner that these ones can understand," the water mage declared very solemnly.

'Mortal, your family no longer holds that primary oath,' the spirit burbled to itself as it formed itself into a nude, watery statue duplicate of Montmorency. "I remember thee, mortal. It has only been a few years since you visited my waters," it stated the main language of Tristain.

"I am glad, revered spirit. Though it may be insensitive, may we humbly ask for a small sacrifice of your body for its potent water magic within its waters?" the water-mage asked reverently.

The water nymph copy of Montmoreny's face seemed to smile. "No." It started to recede into the water immediately.

"Nymph of Lake Ragdorian," Sheila said quickly before it had totally disappeared, "do you have anything to say about why you have drowned this land?"

The water mage gasped. "You insult her!"

The nymph flowed back into Montmorency's form. Her eyes of water seemed to widen in suprise. "I merely seek a thief, daughter of fallen Mount Olympianus." The tone almost carried a bit of worry now.

"I take it the thief stole a magical item from you? You have to know that drowning these lands is not likely to force a thief to return such a stolen thing," the demigoddess noted an a cautioning tone.

Montmorency seemed confused, as this had not been part of her plan. Mount Olympianus? Was that not the home to one of the pagan gods before the Founders Church?

"Mortals might not," the water spirit noted in agreement. "Yet what else can I do?"

"Punishing the poor farmers and the town you drowned just hurts innocents. Recede from these lands and we might seek justice for you. What was stolen?" Sheila said bluntly. It was not like thievery was unknown among the immortals, she thought of her uncle Hermes.

"The ring of Andvari was taken from my by stealth by wind users," the nymph stated. "If you swear to return it, I will recede from these lands."

"I will swear to try to retrieve it in good faith," she countered. "If it is destroyed through no fault of my own or lost for good, I expect reasonable understanding from you."

The nymph shuddered as its face morphed into anger, then fear. "Agreed, lost one."

"Sheila! What about Guiche?" Louise cried out.

Cold water eyes stared at Louise. "What does this mortal wish of me?"

"She is my companion and seeks to cure a friend and compatriot from a lust drought that was made with your water. To counter it, more of your essence is required. May we bargain?" the demigoddess said quickly.

"There is nothing a mortal can give me except my ring," the nymph replied simply as she started to recede again. "Unless you all swear to stop the attacks upon myself."

"And what of myself?" Sheila held out her hand as she pulled a dagger. "I would be willing to trade ichor for essence." The knife cut a deep, small cut and a black liquid of all colors and none came out to fill her palm.

The nymph expanded hugely and towered over them by fifty feet, then fell back to a merely six foot representative of Montmorency. "Ichor. Give me the ichor and you do not even have to return the ring or fight the interlopers." Its cold eyes hungered.

Montmorency's mouth had gaped open at that. "What!" Guiche held onto her tightly from behind as if to protect her.

"Some ichor for you to not care about the ring and more ichor for your essence?" Blue-green eyes met her translucent eyes.

"Agreed. I will deal with my attackers by myself."

Montmorency quickly pushed Guiche away and had a container open to hold out with great respect. Sheila poured her godly essence into her wound, pouring rainbow-black ichor into the cupped hands of the nymph at the same time

"So pure. How old are you lost one?" the nymph asked as the entity started to retreat.

"I'm am sixteen years."

"I shall wait and see if you reach apotheosis." And with that, the ichor was drawn into a bubble as the watery figure disappeared into the lake.

"That was unusual," Guiche said through his love-addled confusion.

"Darling, you have a gift of understatement," Montmorency said in frustration. She sent a dark glare at Louise.

"Well, shall we spend the eveing here camping out?" Louise asked in a cheerful tone as she blatantly ignored the glare. This really did appear to be a lovely area.

* * *

Guiche was singing. And quite badly, as it appeared a cup or two of wine had loosened his tongue as he sat at the small campfire. Montmorency was snuggled up in her cloak as it might get slightly chilly during the night, but nothing that would require more than a light covering.

"I'm going to walk in the moonlight along the shore. It looks very pretty," Sheila said, realizing that it really was quite a site with the two moons rising.

"I think I'll go with you. I'm not tired and it does look nice," Louise admitted. She left her cloak behind as Guiche continued singing about a pretty maid dancing across eaves.

Away from the firelight, the light of the two moons gave everything a slightly odd tint under the blue and red light. They were just rising across the lake to the east.

"Did you do this a lot back in your home world?" Louise asked as she kept pace with her familiar.

"No, not in the in the slightest. I lived in cities or suburbs for the most part. Houses or buildings that scrape the sky, or so it seemed, for miles and miles. And they were all lit up all the time, so that the stars were a bit drowned out."

"Ah, like in the capital," Louise said. She had remembered that from some of her visits to stay at the Valliere home there.

Fireflies were drifting out of the bushes on the hill they were walking along the foot. Sheila knelt down, noticing that the water had receded about six inches already. "She's already kept her word. I wonder what she will do with my ichor?"

"To know that, I would have to know what ichor is, other than the icky stuff that is in some creatures," her mage said with a sniff.

"Ah, my ichor is not nearly so mundane. In simple terms, it is the blood of the gods that flows in my from my mother. It grants my body and mind its powers. Not only that, it can be shaped into powerful items. This necklace, for instance, allows me to fully use several of my powers without hindrance. It carries such traits as War, Healing and the Sky itself. It is part of my legend and part of me, no matter how far away it is and grows with my legend."

"It is very dark," Louise said, wondering at the old tales of black, evil blood of the pagan gods.

"I have become quite powerful," she replied truthfully.

"Ah, that term. Why did the... nymph talk of apotheosis. That sounds almost blasphemous." Louise was frowning.

"It appears that this world had something similar to my worlds Olympian, or as they like to be referred to, the Dodekatheon. Gods of the Mount Olympus, descended from the Titans Gaia and Kronus that created part of my world. But they appear to be lost or have been driven from these lands. As for the term apotheosis, it means to ascend to heaven or godhood. My uncle was cleansed by holy fire and was carried into heaven to become the god of heroes."

Louise just stared. "My familiar might become a goddess?" She felt a bit light headed at the implications.

"Well, I'm hoping less 'might' and more 'eventually' though I haven't as greatly increased my legend in this world. I don't seem to be weakening either, so maybe it is just taking me a bit longer for my stories to spread." Sheila shrugged at this. She then sighed, as she realized she really could only hear Guiche's singing as a mumbling in the background. She gave Louise a sudden wicked look. "We're about a half mile from them now. Have you ever been skinny dipping?"

"You mean, swimming naked here? Now?" It was hard to tell in the blue and red moonlight, but the girl was blushing deeply all of a sudden.

"We probably won't get a better chance unless we specifically sneak off." The demigoddess started to undo the buttons holding her overcoat. "Unless you are a little scared?"

"I am not scared. And you are doing that on purpose!" Louise countered in challenge. That was not to say she would not take up the challenge, per se. She started to loosen the ties holding the back of her traveling dress.

In moments they were both naked and cavorting in the water, splashing each other while laughing as the moons rose higher into the sky.

"You are a wicked, wicked girl," Louise decided as they stood waist deep in the waters. She was recovering from a tickle attack.

"If I _was_ wicked, I would be trying to ravish you, rather than just trying to get you used to the idea that I- I love you," the demigoddess replied with her own blush.

"Next you will be spouting some sort of silly oath to me here by the lake." Louise had crossed her arm across her body, pouting heavily.

She had no idea how cute that made her look to Sheila. The scion of Athena walked up and took her hands gently within her own, the water of the lake sloshing around them. She then pulled those hand to touch her the skin above heart.

"If it pleases you, I will. I will hold to you until the stars burn out in the sky. I will let nothing stand between us, be it human, monster or god. I would travel the infinite cosmos to find you if lost. If you die, I will brave a thousand hells to bring you back. This, I Sheila of the Dodekatheon, swear to you as I love you more than anything." Her blue-green eyes almost glowed as the flickering green fireflies glowed as they swirled around them.

"I-I do not know how to answer that, my familiar... my companion. I know I care for you, but I do not know if I love you like that," Louise admitted in a soft, shaken voice.

"If you do come to love me, Louise de la Valliere, come to love me in your own way. My love does not require that you love me back in that exact way. It does not care, though I would be very happy if you did decide to love me with everything you can." She leaned forward, opening her lips slightly.

"I shouldn't. I really should not," Louise replied, but leaned forward and the initiated the offered kiss.

The kiss seemed to last for only a moment and an eternity all in one. Louise only pulled back as she felt Sheila's tears upon her cheek.

"Why are you crying?" the Void mage asked breathlessly, suddenly glad that Sheila was holding her as her knees felt incredibly weak.

"Because I'm so happy that you have shown you love me even a little bit," the other blonde said with a soft smile upon her lips. Seeing Louise shiver a little bit, she scooped her out of the water to walk back to shore while holding her close to let her own warmth help her.

They sat on the scratchy grass, waiting to dry off and shared their warmth in silence for almost a half an hour as the moons were almost overhead.

That was when Sheila heard muffled noise that sounds like Montmorency and Guiche muttering to her.

"Oh, no. Louise, dress and catch up as soon as possible." With that, Sheila was off like a flickering moonbeam. "Guiche! No, stop!" she shouted as she ran into the came a mere twenty seconds later.

"But I love her," Guiche replied dully. "She must want this, because she is not fighting me too much."

He had Montmorency half-disrobed and terrified enough to barely whimper while his own trouser were down by his knees.

"I just have to show her that I really love her," he said in a drunken, blurry slur.

Sheila moved before his blurred mind could understand the flicker. She held him up, but held back from punching him. It was _not_ his fault. If it was anyone's it was hers for getting distracted by her love. But she would never be sorry for that.

The demigoddess suddenly pulled him close to whisper in his ears. "Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree tops, when the wind blows... the cradle will rock..." she said in such a low tone that only he could hear, charging the lullaby with potent legend.

Guiche fell asleep instantly even as Montmorency started crying hysterically. Sheila laid him down on his cloak even as she carefully hugged the water mage. "You are going to be all right," she said in earnest conviction, lending weight to her words.

That was how Louise found them later, running back into camp with just her shirt on. "Monmon! Are you all right? Sheila, you won't believe who I found," she exclaimed.

"I'll be fine," Montmorency said with a sniffle. Why did she feel she could trust this strange girl from a far off place so?

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you two," Sheila said as she peered into the darkness. "How... fateful."

"Though I do wonder what you two were doing all naked like that," Kirche asked with a wide, wide grin. "How scandalous."

"How?" Tabitha asked, looking over at Guiche and Montmorency.

Louise gave Sheila a helpless stare, then started to speak. "Well, Guiche ended up drinking a love potion, so we came here to get the tears of the Water Spirit to cure him. Oh, and convinced her to not flood the land."

Tabitha paled at that. "You already stopped it," she actually asked worriedly.

That even got Montmorency to look up, blinking away her tears. "What's wrong?"

"Her uncle gave her orders to defeat that creature so that it would quite flooding Gallia. Its solved, Tabitha. I'm sure he won't care too much about the specifics. Besides, these are our great friends. Well, except Guiche. Some things are not forgivable." Kirche gave them a sniff.

"He's drunk and doused with a love potion. I don't think we can wait until morning to get back to the academy, Louise. I think we should fly back so Montmorency can create the cure."

"Yes. Yes, I agree. He should be cured as quickly as possible," Montmorency said earnestly. "And I've really learned my lesson. I will never create such an evil brew on my honor as a noble."

"Well, if the problem is solved, I can't blame heading back to school."

"Home," Tabitha said, then blushed as she looked away from Sheila.

"Perhaps I should put some clothing on first," the demgoddess said, wishing for just a moment that the ground could swallow her up.

* * *

Sheila was flying through the air, Sylphid following gamely as they swept back to the academy. Louise was curled up tiredly in her arms while the dragon carried her mistress, Kirche, Montmorency and the unconscious and tied up Guiche. Poor Flame was hanging on the back hind of the dragon gamely and not saying much distress.

Sheila was navigating by the stars and her uncanny sense of direction and they were approaching close to the area. The demigoddess was going to align herself with the capital Tristain and follow the road back to the Academy.

"There's a fire at the palace," she noted aloud. In fact, the gates looked sundered and soldiers were casting spells back and forth. "The palace is under attack!"

Sylphid roared in shock as the girls she had been following in the air suddenly zoomed off much faster than she could follow towards the city.

At the inner gates to the palace, Queen Henrietta was leadng the retreating battle against six unstoppable soldiers of the Reconquista. If this is what her Wales had to fight, it was no wonder that he had lost his kingdom. She chanted another spell, summoning water to reinforce the gates with as much strength as possible. "Hold the gate no matter what!" she shouted.

A whirlwind shattered the gate and her water wall, sending debris flying everyone. Out strode six men. No, six monsters. At the front of an irregular wedge of mages stood someone that should not be able to be there.

"Traitor! How dare you inflict this horror upon the living," the young queen shouted as she held her bleeding arm with her wand hand.

"For the Reconquista, you must die, queen of Tristain," Wardes called out in a flat tone as their wands raised up.

Night turned to day as three lightning bolts slammed into him and the two nearest undead mages.

"We're saved!" a knight shouted out as Sheila and Louise floated down to the ground.

Louise landed with a tap next to her queen, dispelling her levitation. She was very glad she had practiced that spell a lot. "Henrietta! We stopped the last assassin and we can stop these monsters!"

"Partner! Why aren't you using me?" Derflinger complained.

"I thought you hated touching undead? Besides, I need Hadecleus's disturbing power to see the dead," the demigoddess said as she had pulled out Hadecleus from its shadow-space, forged by Hades himself. She fought with the relic for a second, then her vision suddenly had a black and white layer etched on top of her normal vision. "Their souls have been shackled to their bodies by some strange magic." Probably the Ring of Andvari. A very potent ring if it could control that many mages.

The ghost of Wardes snarled at her even as he pulled fitfully at the chains that held him collared on his body. 'Damn Cromwell for taking me from the Halls of the Dead. And curse you for being the one he really wants dead," the desiccated spirit shouted ethereally at the queen he had betrayed.

Each of the ghosts took up the chant of the damned as their bodies regrouped or pulled themselves back together. Said bodies were unhampered by their souls cursing as they started to chant spells. Fire and wind spells struck out at Louise and Henrietta, only for Sheila to appear in between them with Derflinger in her left hand. The sword tried to dispel the magic, but the demigoddess of battle was still rocked backwards and almost into Louise.

"Woo, powerful," the sword said woozily. "Let's do that again! Weee!"

Louise started chanting quickly, slashing out with her battlewand. Wardes proved true to his runic name, dodging the spell like lightning but the old man behind him staggered and then fell to his feet as the soul-shackles exploded into necromantic dust. Even the missed spell started to affect the other etheric chains on all of the undead, corroding them.

"You shall not pass, Wardes. Cromwell's bid to murder my queen will not work," Sheila snarled as blood dropped from several cuts on her body. Her uniform was mostly shredded by the wind and fire attacks.

With a roar, Flame spat out a fireball even as Kirche magnified the heat of the salamander fire. "Yahoo! Let's not let Louise have all the glory!" her mage shouted as Sylphid swooped by.

"You are all insane!" Montmorency screamed out as she hung on the back of the dragon for dear life. "I'm a gentle girl, not some brute of an adventurer. Guiche, this is all your fault!"

"Help," Tabitha ordered after she cast a spell create a cutting wind that really did not work that effectively on the undead. She immediately switched to an ice containment spell for her next attack.

The magic was trying to pull their bodies back together even as the flames burnt the skin and flesh in a horrific abattoir of fire. The undead thrashed on the ground as the Void magic continued to erode the spell animating them.

Finally, the bodies stayed on the ground as soldiers rand to their wounded companions.

"This will not stand," Henrietta declared softly as she looked at her devastated palace. "Call my generals to arms and gather the army. We will invade Albion and teach the Reconquistia that attacking us will not be tolerated."


	5. Vacation of Intrigue

Montmorency and Guiche had disappeared almost immediately after the cure for the love potion. It was only a little while before summer vacation anyways. Sheila had managed to catch both of them before they left and suggested that maybe they should try to write to each other. Letters would put them one step apart from the horrors that they had afflicted to each other and perhaps start a bit of healing from the two of them.

They did care for each other, though it was certain that their relationship would have to change.

Just because the queen had declared a state of war did not mean that Tristain would immediately be invading. There was still an imbalance between the navies and armies of Tristain and Albion, though it was now far closer than it had ever been. Germania was taking a wait and see attitude and kept saying that their troops were 'on the way'. The queen was having a hard time convincing her generals that her orders must happen.

Sheila had decided to take the opportunity and visited the foundry of the capital that forged the cannons and guns for the army and had a better understanding of the limitations of their crafting ability. This was an era of muzzle loaded cannons and simple breech-loaded guns, backed by the spells of the nobility. So she was already working out how to convert the weapons to a slightly more effective ability for a cheap cost.

When Albion was invaded, there were going to be force multipliers that were going to change the way Halkgenia understood war.

Louise had continued her progress in dueling and fighting with her wand, getting up earlier than she ever wanted to. The young mage was surprised to discover that she was finding it easier. She, Kirche and Tabitha had formed a small dueling club.

The three of them were panting under the hot sun as it started to make its slow fall in the afternoon. They were at the edge of the Vestri Court, under the Tower of Fire. They had been working on multi-mage tactics, where one mage would switch off for the other, which Louise was unfamiliar with but the other two girls were quite proficient.

That was when a man in the dark robes of the Church of the Founder called out. "Hello there. That seems rather rough for young women of breeding," Deacon de la Gregordi said as his blue eyes studied them all closely.

"It is a bit rough," Louise admitted as she stood and bowed her head respectfully. "But it paid off to be able to defend myself against traitors to the crown."

"Ah, yes. Wardes, the twice buried," the churchman said with concealed dislike.

"Quite cremated. Kirche did a very good job there," the scion said casually.

"Safer," Tabitha said as she pulled out a book to start reading. Once again, it was a rare treatise about water and healing and not one in the library here at the school.

"I suppose. The founder will protect." He looked puzzled for a second. "Ah, that reminds me. I don't think I've seen any of you at the chapel for service," he asked with artful contrivance.

"Oh, that's so early on the Day of Void," Kirche complained. "I always try, but I'm so tired after my week. I do try to make up for penance when I'm home at Zerbst manor's chapel."

Tabitha just ignored him, though there was a bit of tension in her neck.

"It has been a bit busy," Louise admitted aloud. "I will definitely have to make the time while I'm in school."

As the priest turned to her, Sheila nodded noted to herself, 'He is now springing his trap.' "I've been quite interested in learning of the Founder, of course. It is a religion that is unknown in my lands. I would feel uncomfortable entering into one of his churches without a better understanding."

"You are not from these lands? Remarkable. I would not have believed that by your accent," Gregori said with a false smile. "What type of religeon does your homeland have."

"Ah, you would find it very strange. Freedom of religion is enshrined within my country so that no one may interfere with any of the hundreds of religions that fill the country. Some bare a passing resemblance to the Church of the Founder and its Protestants, but other are quite different. Reverence of your ancestors, belief in the wisdom of the spirits of the land or the spirits-guides of animals that guide you to a natural way of living." All of them were looking at her strangely now.

"And the elves of your land?" he asked in dark hunger, barely masking the trap he thought he was laying.

That actually puzzled her, as she had not run across much information about the elves here, other than that they were reviled. "Well, I'm only aware of two types of elves from my lands. The evil dark elves of Nordic legend. They serve the Titans and are the enemies of most good thinking sorts. The last are the Fae. They are enigmatic, dangerous and never to be trusted. Their gifts are more cruel than the undying hatred of many lesser beings."

"Interesting. Well, at least some things are universal," Deacon Gregori noted in a pleased voice. "Such talk of accepting other religions will not be tolerated in Halkgenia, Chevalier Sheila. Do not going spreading such ill spoken words."

Kirche and Louise were both watching the deacon closely, expecting Sheila to do something to him. Tabitha looked like she was reading again but her hand not involved in reading was holding her staff.

"I would not dream it," Sheila said softly.

"Very well." Giving each of the four girls a level stare, he turned and walked off.

"Actions are so much better anyways. Kirche? Tabitha? Do you mind if we do a little experiment?" Sheila said blandly to the two girls.

"Why not me also?" Louise asked suspiciously.

"It would be impossible for you to fail this one, my mage. Unless you don't think you dare attempt something that Louise can do?" the demigoddess asked Kirch too-innocently.

"Ha! Anything she can do, I can do better," the fire mage declared.

"Then here's a new spell. It has some odd runes though," Sheila said as Louise gaped in shock. "Unfari mean no-air. You add it to the phrase Murta Punari."

"Sheila!" Louise blurted out. She was going to teach them a Void spell?

Kirche frowned, as that sounded very strange. "What am I to cast it on?" She started to recite the strange words in her head. They felt... wrong.

"Just some smoke."

"You are testing that now?" the Void Mage suddenly said in realization.

"Yes, Deacon de la Grigori upset me a little bit. So I'm thinking of shaking things up a little bit."

With a poof, Kirche set a patch of grass on fire, letting it give off a heavy smoke. "Unfari Murta Punari!"

Nothing happened.

"What? What is supposed to happen?" the Ardent demanded.

"One second. Tabitha?" This may be a failure, Sheila admitted to herself.

"Void..." Tabitha breathed, causing Kirche to gasp. "Unfari... No. Murta Unfari Punari." That order of runes felt almost right... as a sphere the size of a tennis ball of nothingness appeared in the middle of the smoke.

It was not large, nor did it give off an impression of power. But it existed by pushing the smoke back.

Louise blinked, then smiled. "You were right, Sheila! More people do have Void. They just don't know it." She looked closer at the sphere of nothing in the smoke. "That's pretty small though. Mine was ten times that size."

"So we just need to test people using a spell of Void Runic. In fact, there may even be void users within the peasants, but that's really getting ahead of our self." Sheila was getting excited.

"Do you realize how heretical this is?" Kirche asked of them. "You are saying the the holy Void... Why can't I use it?" She looked upset at being left out rather than outraged at the heresy.

Sheila shrugged. "Why do mages only have some elements instead of a bit of them all?"

They all thought on that for a long moment, then realized they did not know enough about magic itself to say.

"Void runes. Book?" Tabitha asked, here eyes more alive than they had ever seen.

* * *

The summer was starting and the army had still not gathered on the day the message arrived

"I still don't understand how spinning something make it more stable," Louise commented as she looked over her familiar's shoulder back in her room at the academy.

"Have you ever seen a top spin?" the scion asked. At Louise's shake of her head, she continued by pulling out a coin from a small pouch. She set it spinning on the desk next to the diagrams and papers she was working on. "Spinning forces a stability along one axis. It can increase the accuracy of a bullet or cannon shell several times and how far they travel."

"Does that work for spells?" the mage asked.

"Ones that work with physical object could take advantage of it. Fireballs and their such would just spin apart."

"I was hoping for something to help with the accuracy of my spells," Louise admitted with a sigh.

"Practice and more practice, of course." Sheila had pulled her long blonde hair back with a hair clip that Louise had given her.

Louise gave her a disgruntled look.

That was when an owl arrived at the window and scratched at the glass.

"How very Harry Potter," Sheila muttered as she let the bird with a note tied to its leg fly in and land on Louise's held out arm.

She, in turn, removed the pouch. "Hmm, I appears the princess is getting worried that she may be forcing this war upon the nation and wants to know the peasants are taking the news that we are going to war with Albion. So she wants us to find out what they really think."

"That's very kind-hearted. It appears that many people are fighting against her wish to go to war." Sheila suspected that Cardinal Mazarin was behind most of the resistance at this point. Deacon de la Gregoria had been keeping a very close eye upon Louise's training, though he probably did not know he had been spotted watching from the towers.

"I am not sure how to do this mission that she has given us," Louise admitted.

"Well, there are a couple of ways," her familiar said. "You can simply ask, but people might lie. What do you think a commoner would say if the queen asked him directly if he wanted to go to war?"

"He would probably agree instantly, even if he did not want to go to war. She might have him punished." That seemed to make their job a lot harder.

"Even just having a commoner ask, they might lie because they would think about it getting back to one of the queen's loyalist. Or you just go and listen in, essentially spying on them. That requires trying to pretend to be a commoner." Sheila gave her a look on consideration. "That would be very hard for us. I'm still not used to this land and you have never lived any way but as a noble."

"What do you suggest then?" Louise kicked her legs a little bit as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"We could start by just listening in at some bars. We'll need to dress down a bit and pretend that we are visiting from another part of the country, but as long as we buy drinks we should be fine."

"We could go as sisters if you change your hair again," Louise said excitedly. "You'll have to pretend to be my older sister, as you are taller."

"That's not a bad idea," Sheila agreed.

* * *

"So I suggest that while we are 'commoners', that we have run away from our merchant father for an adventure in the capital," Sheila was saying as she put on the long, dark green dress. "Don't talk much about it, but that will be the basis. From what I've read, a good lie is simple and lets the person listening fill in the blanks." Her old psychology studies were actually giving her a little bit of use.

Louise nodded as she tugged at the bodice of her dress. It was not as well fitted as she was used to. "I don't understand why we can't stay at a proper inn."

"Because it would be noted, my mage. Even if we snuck out every day, someone would see. Then someone else would hear of it." Sheila held up on long hair to examine it as it turned just a slightly darker red of strawberry-blonde than Louise and her eyes turned a deep brown. "We'll ask around for any boarding houses that have room, as we are going to be in the city for a while."

They had only two pieces of luggage to carry. Louise still grumbled, but had finally dropped most of her fancy clothing. They basic (for her) dresses were picked to be of decent quality and Louise's wand was hidden under her dress.

"Derflinger, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you here," Sheila said to the sword. "It would be a bit blatant to carry around such a large sword."

"But partner," he complained, "how am I to protect your?"

"We're just gathering some information about how the populace feels about the war effort," he noted. "I shouldn't need you just to ask commoners what they think." She slapped her forehead. "And I just jinxed ourselves. But that doesn't change the fact that you are a little obvious." She patted the old, pitted sword that had been cleaned up, her fingers trailing the hilt for a second. She would have to see about reforging him at some point, but she would need to increase her skills first.

"Fine. But don't come complaining to me because you needed the Great Derflinger!"

Then it was a quick little flight through the skies and they landed outside the gates of the city. Walking in past the guards while carrying their suitcases, they looked like they had just gotten off of a carriage. Sheila led the way, finding a fairly low class inn to spend the night. On its sign was a dog laying next to a crook-staff.

"This is horrible," Louise said softly, knowing that Sheila would still hear the words. This was a far different experience from her stay at the fancy inn at La Rochelle. The floor was dirty and it was crowded with many sweaty and stinky commoners.

"Consider it a challenge to see how the less priviliged people live. I mean, they are tough enough to live like this. And you are a chevalier in the service of your queen. That means that you do things that are unpleasant, right? I mean, how is this different from sleeping in the back of a wagon or in the wilderness?" her familiar whispered in her ear.

"But we can afford better," the mage complained a bit more loudly.

"Not for very long," her familiar noted. "A room, kind goodman?"

The innkeep nodded from behind his bar. "Ah, welcome to the Sleepy Shepard. That will be two ecue."

"Oh, so expensive. I guess we will have to go elsewhere," Sheila said in contrived artifice, her eyes wide and innocent looking.

"My apologies! I thought you were the daughters of some nobles. It is only six silver stuivers."

"That includes a meal in the morning? Perfect," Sheila said quite quickly.

The rotund man started to shake his head, then realized something. "Ah, you know the secret of haggling. Are you perchance from a merchants family?"

"Is it that obvious? Of course, my little sister is papa's little princess," the familiar explained.

Louise looked a bit impressed as Sheila had slipped into her role. Like Sheila had suggested, she bowed as if the man was actually of higher rank because he was older. It was odd to think that there were ranks between commoners due to age and position. "Thank you for taking care of us this evening."

"Oh, a pair of real cuties. Very well." He held out a ring. "Room number 11. You can read numbers, right?"

"Yes, it's quite important for the counter." Sheila frowned cutely. "Is there a play or dance hall that two young ladies may visit in the neighborhood?"

* * *

Louise danced and spun to the roughly played songs with a cobblers apprentice in a crowd of younger people. The new sturdy boots she was wearing were starting to chaff just a little bit. "Mercy," she cried finally with her face flushed from her exertions..

The cobbler Johan nodded. "Of course. Here's your sister to take you away. Very protective, isn't she?" He frowned as the girl with slightly more red hair appeared as if by magic.

"Thank you for treating my sister kindly," Sheila said as she took Louise's hand and started to wend their way through the dance hall. Sheila sat them down in a barely vacated booth. "How did it go?"

"He was not really interested in talking about the war. Really, he did not seem to care one way or the other. It seems like most people just think this is another war. Not like my first dance partner. He was a real firebrand and wanted to join after hearing of the attempt on the queen's life." Louise held her feet up from throbbing on the ground. Who knew that talking and meeting people was so tiring.

"That seems to be what I'm seeing, too. There are those that care about a war are for it and then there are those that despise the war because the heroes of Tarbes were girls and not proper knights. Most people though just see it as a noble's diversion so don't really care." Sheila sighed as she started to consider some propaganda and morale boosting to steel Tristain's will. "The city guard has been by once to pick up one of the nasty drunks, so it is starting to get late."

They stepped out into the dimming, fading mage-light and head to the Sleepy Shepard. There were only a few patrons left. They waved to the bartender and headed up to room eleven. Sheila hid a grin as she saw some scratches around the lock.

Opening the door they found their dresses scattered and their luggage overturned.

"Ah, it only took them three days to rob us," Sheila finally said as she checked.

"Our dresses! Our money! What are we going to do?" Louise screamed loudly.

The bartender was heading up quickly, so Sheila fell into the act. "We'll have to get a job to support us."

"Oh, young ladies, you should go back to your family," the bartender exclaimed without really good acting to back up his lies. Sheila picked up on it instantly. But now wasn't the time to act on that.

"No, that's not possible. We shall just have to make do," the scion declared. "Isn't that right, Louise? After all, we made a promise that we would not go back until after that man leaves our home."

"But our dresses and money." Louise was really more distraught about the golden ecus that had been lost.

"We can work. We are both pretty enough to get a job waitressing. We shall have to search for a job in the morning."

* * *

"I wish you had not been correct about the fact we would get robbed," Louise complained quietly the next morning as they entered a third bar. "It's degrading to be thought of having to work for a living."

"Louise, even most nobles 'work' for a living. Henrietta is working very hard and you shame her by your words," her familiar scolded. "Are you really afraid to show that you can not learn some simple skills?"

The mage's cheeks were flaming from that. "You- you- you-" She seemed totally at a loss

"I should have said that in a nicer manner, but you aren't being very helpful in this matter. That last bar was quite large and popular and we could have learned a lot if you had not let your pride snap at the owner." Sheila reached over and squeezed her hand. "I know you can do this, but we are trying to pretend to a little less nobility," she said in a whisper.

Louise's cheeks were still flaming in embarrassment, but she nodded stiffly.

The owner just pointed them to his wife who sized them up with a glance. "Are you sure you want a job? You don't look like the sort that have very much experience."

"We are willing to learn. We really need some money to eat and to rent a place to stay," Sheila said earnestly.

"We can't really afford two girls," the head waitress said with a shake of her head.

"We- We could both work for pay of one girl. I'm not very good at these sort of things," Louise suddenly cried out, tears almost in her eyes. "Please, ma'am."

"Well, its against my better judgement, but we'll see."

An hour later, she was glad she was getting both. The younger girl was definitely trying, but she was having to be rescued a bit by her older sibling. They were both starting to get the hang of passing drinks and were starting to become very popular. They were quite pretty and could earn decent tips with a little bit of training, she decided.

The smoke from pipes was pretty thick after sunset when Sheila heard something that caught her attention heavily.

"I still say that something needs to be done," a noble in slightly shabby robes said as he was heavily into his cups. "The queen is being foolish. We should sue for peace before her madness gets us all killed."

Sheila wondered if the foolish man knew that in this case peace was another term for surrender. And to an enemy that seemed to hold no mercy at all. She smiled at the patrons on a different table as she set their beers and bowls of soup down without spilling a drop.

"Hush, William. Not so loud," his reedy and thin friend said nervously as he looked around. "You are espousing words that if heard wrong could be considered treason."

"I know, I know," the first noble complained as he took another heavy drink of deep red wine. "Are we still meeting up on Friday at the Charming Fairie Inn? I hear Renaldo has rented a private room."

"That's the men's club on Barton Ave, correct?" At the nod, he continued, "Of course."

That was when there was a crash as Louise dropped her tray and several mugs of beer and glasses of wine. "Don't touch me there," she almost screamed.

Sheila was by her side, glaring at the impertinent man. "My innocent sister!" She slapped the man with just a little more force than she should have and sent him staggering.

"You struck me! You commoner! How dare you strike a noble!" the older noble's face was turning quite scarlet.

Louise looked shocked as Sheila seemed to fly into a temper tantrum. It was only as she noticed that Sheila was trying to fight smiling that she realized it was all an act. The young demigoddess was not very good at lying, though she was perhaps a bit better than Louise herself was.

A smashed bottle, another slap and several broken mugs and they found themselves escorted to the streets as Sheila threw a few interesting swear words back at the owner and his wife.

"And stay out!" the old man shouted as he tossed them into the dirty sheets.

Louise and Sheila made a production of crying and sniveling as the demigoddess wandered them down a few streets and over to Barton's Ave. They made a right downtrodden looking pair. There was a stump that was sometimes used to tie up a horse for a few minutes, so they sat down on it and set to sniffling loudly.

That was when a very strange man appeared, wearing a very purple and sparkly tunic open to the waist with incredibly tight pants and leather boots with fairly high heels.

"Oh no! What has happened?" he said in a most faux-feminine manner. "Are you hurt? Has someone taken advantage of you?"

Sheila had seen him exit from a side entrance of the Charming Faerie Inn, so she took a chance. "We were working at a bar and a noble went too far and I might have over reacted. Oh, sister, we are going to be living on the streets soon!"

"No, that won't happen! We will find a job," Louise ham-libbed quickly.

"No no! This must not happen. I, Scarron, promise that I will help you. But you must promise to not slap the nobles if I give you a job so you can stay in my home."

They both looked around to see where he worked, taking in the several shops and two bars.

"Ah, welcome! Tres bien and welcome to the Charming Faerie Inn!" he said in his incredibly flamboyant way.

* * *

Sheila poked her sleeping companion in the side. "It's time to get up, Louise. I think the owner is starting to move around." They were both on a pile of blankets all the way up in the attic as light started to filter through cracks in the slats above them.

"Don't wanna get up," the mage murmured in a cute pout.

Her hands were gently grabbed and she was hauled to her feet with blinking sleepy eyes. She felt a touch of lips upon her forehead. "Yes, but we have to learn how to waitress in this place. And I think this is going to need all your patience and maybe some more."

"I'm not that bad," Louise grumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"Actually, I was referring to the fact that this Charming Faerie Inn appears to be a burlesque bar. We are going to be wearing camisoles to take and receive orders from men." Sheila was not terribly thrilled at all with this place. "I think that if the gentlemen is properly respectful they may receive even more."

The mage frowned at that, but nodded. "I was afraid of that. How are we to do this?"

"Well, they will expect to be teased, but if they become too forward we have to stop them without, er, violence like slapping them." The slightly taller girl was considering things. "To entice the men, we shall have to flaunt things our bodies really don't have with extra skill. Do you know how to saunter?"

"Saunter?"

"Somehow that response doesn't surprise me," Sheila said with a sigh.

"I know what it is, but why would I want to saunter around these uncouth men," Louise snapped out quickly. She was always a bad-morning riser.

"Because we are supposed to be desperate to earn enough money so we don't go back to our family while 'he' is there, remember?" Sheila slipped on the black outfit and panties, starting to tighten it up enough to fake that she had some more curves than she did. "You can use this as pretend-practice for how to serve high ranking nobles above your station or your future husband. There may be times when you will be called to do something like this." With a hmm sound, she stuffed her brassiere part of the camisole carefully to give her a tiny bit of a bust as the ruffles at the waist gave an impression of a skirt. Slippers and gloves finished off the outfits.

All in all, it gave the impression of nightwear without actually showing more than a very skimpy dress.

She then helped Louise into her white outfit and similarly modified the look. They then put their hair up in opposite ponytails (Sheila left, Louise on the right) and then some fancy braids to hang loosely to accentuate their faces.

Next they carefully put a bit of makeup on each other, just enough to accentuate but not to really cover. If you did not look close, you could not even tell they had it on.

Then Sheila had Louise walk around. The mage walked around timidly, looking quite sweet but not too sexy.

"You need to sway your back a bit then put more sway in your hips. Try to pretend that you are wanting someone you really want to notice you to see." Sheila stuck out her butt just a little bit and then walked across the attic. "See?" She had to grin just a little bit at seeing Louise blush.

"I couldn't do that." Well, not in public, Louise admitted to herself. She tried to do what her familiar explained as her mind drew a blank on who she wanted to see her acting so shamelessly. Well, there was Sheila, she thought after a second. Sashaying across the cluttered attic, she tried to put as much allure into her movements.

Sheila was blushing now. "T-that was very good. Though you might have to tone it down just a little bit. Did you want to try and practice the Familiar Senses spell during breakfast?" Once Sheila had gotten it into her head, she had researched several spells that you could cast through your familiar.

"I really should," Louise admitted. This was actually a bit of 'universal' magic that all mages could use, but most did not bother with. She slipped her wand out of the back of her corset and muttered the six runes needed, then touched Sheila's head with the tip.

Sheila could feel the runes energizing on her left hand and then really looked at Louise.

"It is still so strange to get such detailed impressions of yourself," the mage said as she slipped her wand into the back of her corset again. She did approve of the effect of having a little bust and the curves that tightening the corset part of the camisole down had done for her. Now if only she could breath a bit more deeply.

They wandered down to the main room of the Charming Faerie Inn to meet the other eight other girls.

"I'm Jessica," a dark-haired girl said with a genuine smile. "Wow, you two clean up very nicely."

Louise was startled as she realized that her familiar was scrutinizing the girl quite closely. All the way from the tone of her voice and the inflection of her accent to the slight slant of her eyes.

"Does your family hail from the plains of Tarbes?" Sheila asked. "You remind me of someone I met there."

"I have an aunt and uncle on my mother's side. And of course their children. But I'm a city girl of Tristain now with my father after my mother passed away," the quarter-Japanese said a little bit surprised. "This is Mariette and Angelina..."

After a quick round of introductions, they had a small breakfast and then readied the tables. That was when 'Madam' Scarron made his (her?) appearance for the day.

"Oh, lovely girls! You have everything set so perfectly for the evening! Do not forget, the winner of the most tips will get to wear the charmed clothing that earned this inn its name," Scarron exclaimed with an over-dramatic sway of his hips. He was dressed in tighter shorts than yesterday and his short top hid little of his manly chest hair.

Sheila was chanting in her head about not judging others for their strange weirdness of sexual identity. After all, she was suddenly in a very large glass house. She actually wondered if some women felt just as weirded out when she wore her livery and uniform for Louise as her familiar?

"Yes, Mister Scarron!" everyone chanted.

"No no! Mi Mademoiselle! How many times do I have to explain this?" he said with an exaggerated wag of his bum.

"Of course, Mi Mademoiselle!" they all chorused out in a laugh.

Jessica watched over the new girls, noting their interaction as Louise seemed to take her cue on how to act from Sheila. They weren't bad, but they were a little rough. And they had the prettiest faces she had ever seen.

Louise was trying to her best, but she was very prideful and it was hard to pretend that these lowly people were of higher station than her. She smiled and wagged her bum as best she could and cooed as she poured their wine.

"So are you available for an evening's entertainment later? You are such and lovely flower that would gift you with many things to comfort me in private," an older man asked of her.

The mage's expression and smile turned a bit sickly. "I'm afraid I am comitted in my love. But do not worry, my good men, I am here to soothe your worries today with my presence. Please let me serve your wine with my... humble skill."

"Ah, to be young and in love. But if you ever get tired of your poor boy, let us know so that we may melt your heart and heal it of your wounds," the old man said as his eyes traveled up her legs to her hips.

"Oh, you are too kind. I shall be sure to remember!" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She bowed and then stepped back to turn and then head back to the kitchen door. Stopping there to look back, she frowned as she saw Sheila being nearly shameless in how far she would go for a tip.

Jessica nearly startled her greatly from right behind her. "Oh, is there something interesting going on with your sister?"

"Well, she's acting a little odd. I've never seen her flirt quite so outrageously." And even to Louise herself, she never went this far.

"She must be really driven to earn the prize then."

Louise did not think that was it. Or at least not directly. She checked the little pouch that was sewn into her frilly lace skirt. She was barely doing good at all with earning tips.

Not like Jessica was. That girl had highly refined the art of coquettishly divesting men from their monies. An hour later and Sheila seemed to be trying even harder. She was even sitting on men's laps at times.

"What is wrong with you? I thought you were devoted to your love?" Louise said scathingly at a point where they were both at the kitchen door.

The scion of Athena reared back like she had been slapped. "W-What? This is just for the prize. Nothing more! I promise! I swear on my mother's name!" Her face had become incredibly pale at what Louise had said. She quickly started to review her memories. While she had not disliked it exactly, it was definitely something to bear.

"Then why are you acting so wantonly?" the mage demanded hotly, he cheeks flushed.

"You will think it stupid," Sheila said in a small voice. "There are two things I hate most in the world. Or any world."

"Oh?" Louise asked, a tick developing on her forehead.

"I hate being called stupid. My mind is one of my great prides. The other is... I hate losing. Even something so silly as a contest on tips." Her eyes were wide as she admitted this, her face still pale. "I have a hard time not seeing everything as a task or quest that I must succeed at."

"So if someone calls you stupid... you would-?"

"Well, I would be hard pressed to not insult them or tear them down. And if it were bad enough, I might attack them." She laughed hollowly. "I guess that is my prideful sin of being a Dodekatheon."

Louise surprised them both by giving her familiar a hug. "I will try to keep you on the path of righteousness then," she promised sincerely.

"Thank you. You are my mage and my... companion. Well, you could become my companion in truth. I learned an ancient secret that Hercules and Perseus shared with their most true companions," she whispered softly to her mage and love.

"You would do this with me?" Louise asked carefully.

"I swore that oath, didn't I? What is but one more battle against time itself," the demigoddess asked.

"What are you two up to? Customers are waiting!" Jessica called out from inside the kitchen.

They sprung apart and then rushed back to their tables with the drinks that Scarron had prepared at the bar.

* * *

Sheila was rubbing Louise's feet at the end of the day, removing the aches and pains of being on them all day.

"How does one become your companion?" Louise finally asked.

"It's sort of similar to what Montmorancy did with her Robin. But it's much more intense. I can inject some of my ichor into your veins or we can be very intimate," Sheila finally said after a long pause.

"You mean by having sex between two women? Like in the book The Knight of Two Dawns?" her mage asked.

"Where did you get a book like that?" the faux strawberry-blonde asked in confusion.

"I saw the maid Siesta- Wait, Jessica has some of the same features as Siesta and you asked if she was from Tarbes. Is it because of her features?" Louise asked, getting distracted as Sheila worked up her bare back with strong fingers to relieve tense muscles.

"Yes, she's probably related to the original pilot of the Zero fighter and likely Siesta's cousin. You could see that much through our link? Supposedly we will eventually share an empathetic link that will allow that sort of vision sharing at will if we wanted, except it will be both directions. But that's only if we take it quite a bit deeper than I think you are prepared to go."

"Will it bind our souls together?" Louise asked carefully.

"Not at this level, but it is the first step. Eventually we will be able to send our souls across to each other. This is not irrevocable, but trying to break the bond at that level may actually kill us both." Sheila was quite serious as she explained this all.

Louise turned over, actively suppressing the instinct to cover her very petite chest. "I think I would like to do this, but I don't think I'm quite prepared to become, well, intimate like that." She smiled at Sheila. "At least that intimate. I'm no longer shocked by the thought, but I am not sure I can quite overcome that hurdle."

Sheila leaned over to kiss her passionately on the lips. Pulling back, she smiled. "I will wait for as long as it takes you to overcome it. Like I swore at the lake of the nymph, my love for you is selfless." She frowned as she saw the marks on her chest from the tight camisole and the little bit of padding. "Your skin is marred."

"I'm fine. A little discomfort to look more womanly was well worth it," Louise quickly said. "Do you need to prepare anything to give me your ichor?"

"Yes, I'll need to make something to inject it into your body." Her mind was already working out the requirements for a crude syringe. About five minutes, she thought to herself.

"I'll work on writing today's report while you work on that." Louise quickly sat up to dig her paper and quill out of her suitcase.

Sheila grabbed her t-shirt and nodded. "I'll be back shortly."

Louise did not really have a lot to report and her familiar had not really mentioned anything of different rumors have been reported, so it was rather quick. She would have to ask her when she got back just to make sure. She turned to her big, thick book she had bought weeks ago and opened it to her latest page and started to write her latest thoughts on Void magic. She was scribbling new symbols, syntax and vocabulary as Sheila put it when her familiar returned.

"May I look?" Sheila asked.

"Sure. Oh, did you hear any changes to the rumors about the war effort?" Louise asked as she went back to her letter.

"The average seems to have shifted slightly here. A few more people are unhappy, but it could be a purely statistical fluke and change in the numbers," the faux strawberry-blonde admitted. Sheila scribbled something down in the book for a second. "When we get outside at some point, we should try this. I think it will allow you to cast a normal elemental spell if needed."

"Really?" It was obvious that Louise was one part hopeful and one part skeptical. She lit a candle a put her seal imprint upon wax to seal it. A wave of her wand enchanted it so only the queen could open it without it being obviously tampered with.

"Don't forget that Brimir supposedly founded all five branches of magic. You might not be able to cast Dot elemental spells, but with the stacking of Void and one of your un-elemental runes, it may turn it into a normal element. But I don't think you want to accidentally flood the top floor. That might be a little hard for Scarron and his daughter to ignore."

"Ignore? Your phrasing worries my, Sheila," the natural strawberry-blonde said in a tone to convey her desire for the matter to be explained.

"They think we are sisters running away from our noble household and an unwanted marriage. Mostly idle gossip, really." She gave Louise a quick grin. "One of the girls does think we are in an innapropriate relationship which is why we fled 'our' father."

That set Louise sputtering and blushing very heavily. "How could our disguise fail so spectacularly?"

"Your features, actually. It appears they are slightly too refined and are a bit distinctive. As least you don't have to worry about too-big of ears like some of the royal families from my lands." Sheila then closed Louise's book. "Are you ready?

"Of course. This is just going to improve our bond as mage and familiar." Louise silently wondered when she had shifted from master and servant in even her mind to mage and familiar. Her familiar really was too willful for the term servant. She watched as Sheila stuck them with a contraption of needles and what looked to be some tubes and a bladder of some sort. "Is this safe?"

"Other than the bond itself? Yes, perfectly safe." Sheila willed the ichor within her blood to manifest physically, travelling through the tube.

Louise gasped as the dark all-color liquid was pushed into her arm, a warms suffusing her body. The needle was pulled from her body as a hankerchief was used to hold a bandage in place. "I feel a bit weird."

"You have to guide the ichor within your body. It should be complete by morning. Let's go to bed now." Sheila pulled the blanket over both of them, letting Louise use her as a pillow.

The mage sighed as her cheeks held a blush upon them.

* * *

Louise felt better than she ever had in her life as she woke up to the dim sun beams coming through the cracks in the attic. The girls dressed and readied themselves to wait on people for the Charming Faerie Inn. Breakfast was a calm affair as they had pancakes and slices of apples.

Scarron looked over all of his lovely 'fairies' with a wide smile on his face. "Keep working on earning those tips, my lovely ladies!" His pose was incredibly over the top in feminity for his very male body.

All the girl chorused that they would as they opened for the early morning breakfast crowd. Sheila managed to rein in her competitive streak with only a few pointed reminders from Louise. The mage, on the other hand, was finding things remarkably easier today. Everything seemed to be lighter and she almost seemed to glide across the ground with a grace that was the envy.

Lorriette, a dark-haired and serious looking girl in a pink outfit finally had to ask a question. "Where did you go to learn how to walk like that?"

"Eh? What are you talking about?" the shorter of the two 'sisters' asked in confusion as she put the dishes on the table next to the sink. The different girls would take turns scrubbing them, though it was usually the weakest tip earner that was forced to do the most of the dishes. Louise had learned to detest dishes quickly.

"You seem to be far more graceful today and you seem to be much faster today," the slightly younger girl asked.

"Hahaha. Really?"

"Both of you do dishes for a few minutes," Jessica called out quickly. "If you are quick, you can take a small break." She was walking back out into the main dining room after that pronouncement.

With a sigh, they quickly got to it to shrink the piles of breakfast dishes. Lorriete blinked in surprise as Louise was easily handling the trays of dishes piled high. "You are stronger than you look, Louise. I'm surprised, as I thought you were a noble."

"Hahaha? Really?" Louise replied none-to-glibly with a nervous laughter.

"But we would not care. Every girl has their own story here and Scarron takes us all in. So I won't pry any more."

Sheila wandered into the kitchen while carrying a fairly large tray full of dishes. "How is it going, Louse? How are you doing, Lorriette?"

The other girl nodded happily as Louise replied. "Everything seems to light and easy today."

"I guess my massage last night really helped," the demigoddess replied smoothly.

"Sheila, chop these vegetables," Jessica called out as she swooped back in to pick up an order. She would be back in a moment to cook another order.

That set off all the girls to laughing, as the daughter of Scarron was quite the little dictator in her kitchen

Near noon, Louise was called out as some nobles were being seated in her area. Her blood nearly froze as she saw the four students of Tristain Academy sitting in the middle.

Kirche looked totally at ease, while Tabitha was quietly ignoring the scantily clad girls serving wine and lunch to different tables. But the two that were confusing were Guiche and Montmorency. The young male noble was carefully sitting the girl, even as the water mage looked slightly unhappy.

"Ah, to put the center pieces of utter beauty in the middle of these wildflowers only accentuates your beauty, my darling Montmorency," he was telling her.

"I thought you had returned home already?" Louise blurted out, then realized what she had done. "I'm sorry, I mean... What would you like to order?"

"Louise?" Kirche asked, quickly scanning the crowded dining room to look for blonde hair and not seeing Sheial immediately.

"There," Tabitha noted, pointing her staff at the girl with slightly more red hair than Louise.

"My good friend Louise, what are you doing working at such a place?" Guiche asked in a worried manner. He had a soft spot now for the young mage and her familiar.

Louise wondered how she would survive this mortifying scene. She leaned forward to put on a coy poise as she spoke in a low tone. "This is a favor for a dear friend, but I would ask that you not bring this up at school."

"Working here is a favor?" Kirche asked carefully.

"Being in the city, actually. But I really should not say more. It is quite private." Louise was caught in a quandary and quite embarrassed.

"Well, then this meal will be on you, as you are such a good friend," Kirche said with a wide grin, wanting to cause Louise a bit of discomfort.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Her tips!

She did end up paying for them all, much to her vexation.

* * *

Sheila had watched the students bonding for a while in the adjoining area she was waiting on. The tale of how Kirche met Tabitha was quite interesting, as it appears they had both been ostracized by the Tristain nobles to some degree. Kirche because of her 'bombshell super-model' looks and Tabitha because of her shy habit of reading books. After discovering they had been set to fight each other, they figured out the true culprits that hat had tried to embarrass Kirche by a severe wardrobe malfunction and then destroyed Tabitha's books.

Kirche and Tabitha had ended up getting into some sort of duel, but they figured out it could not have been each other as they were both Triangle-class mages during their single exchange of spell. Once that was revealed and the perpetrators brought to light, they had dealt with them. It appeared they had set them up a flag pole sans their clothing.

A trio of Tristain mages who were part of the army took offense at Kirche's Germanian accent as she told her story.

"Your country is only joining ours because they want a piece of Albion loot," the sergeant said with a wave of his wand, his cheeks flushed with the wine he had been drinking.

"Ah, er, sir." Louise was trying to figure out the best way to intercede. "Is that a way to talk to an ally?

"No, no! Louise, let them go on," Kirche said with a hard smile on her face. She looked like she was more than happy to take them all on. "I mean, they are doing such a fine job of representing your nation."

"You dare insult us?' the fatter officer blustered.

"Oh, please sir," the Void mage cried. "Think of the shame you bring upon our nation to treat so one of our guests of Tristain Academy."

The red-head's forehead was building a nervous twitch. "Who are you and what have you done with Louise?"

"I'm trying to keep you from destroying my workplace, that's all!" she countered.

"Please, listen to Louise's one bout of reason," Guiche declared. "There is no need for fighting between mages! It's forbidden anyways." Montmorency actually pulled closer to him, jerked back and then gathered her will to firmly leaned her shoulder back into his side.

"We are not so boorish to fight in here with all the lovely ladies and girls," one of the soldiers protested. "We shall take it outside."

"My fight," Tabith said as she set her bookmark into the book. She picked up her staff and stood up.

"I tried," Louise sighed, feeling strangely lightheaded from the effort to stop the stupid fight.

Tabitha walked back in a bare minute later, picking up her book and starting to read again.

"You are all mussed, Tabitha. Come one, let's get a room to go rest for a bit and clean up," Kirche ordered her friend. She stood up to go talk to Scarron behind the bar counter.

The ice-mage nodded, following behind in the wake of her friend.

"It has been a fairly long journey from your estate, Monmon," Guiche said to the water mage in blonde curls. "I am sure you would not mind resting for a few minutes. I would be slavish in my devotion to care upon your body."

"What sort of care?" she asked imperiously. "And are you paying?" Loathe she was to admit it, she really did not have money for a room. Montmorency turned her eyes upon Louise. Perhaps she could get the richer noble to pay for it instead.

Sheila had to smile at the two's antics. It appeared they were well on the way to repairing their relationship.

"I thought you two had left for your homes when vacation started?" Louise asked of them.

"We decided to meet after just one letter and happened to run into Kirche and Tabitha in the city. This has been an awakening experience," Guiche admitted to them all. "I never thought anyone could get hurt in love. I guess I was foolish."

"There is a saying in my lands that you can only truly hurt the ones you love," Sheila said as she walked up with a full tray of dirty dishes. "Louise, I'm headed to the kitchen to do some dishes." Sheila had figured out about how often Jessica would yell out for someone to clean and Jessica usually ordered her mage to do that. And Louise's hands really weren't tough enough for that hard task yet.

"Okay," Louise said with a smile. She had cottoned to the fact that Sheila had been intercepting her dishes duty.

The front door slammed open again the the three soldiers from before were there again. They looked a bit roughed up and very angry as they had their dueling wands out. "Where are those girls?" the leader demanded.

"Ah, they aren't here right now," Louise stammered out in shock. They were back and so angry?

"Well, then we will have to deal with you ourselves," the tubby soldier said as he pointed his wand. "We know you are their friends, so don't deny it.

Louise hoped this didn't become violent. Her Void magic would likely take the whole building down. "We are not-" Louise had to stop here as she went over her relationship. "She is more a rival than friend."

"Do you wish to take this outside or shall we shatter this place?" the third soldier asked as he pointed his wand at a chair that was smashed flat with a blast of air.

"Never fear, Louise! I shall deal with this," Guiche declared as he walked outside. "What is this?" His voice had gotten much higher pitched in worry.

Louise and Montmorency quickly stepped out to see quite a few soldiers filling the street.

"That little girl made us look stupid and like bullies. Then she had the audicy to defeat us with one strike. We shall take the cost of her actions from your flesh," the leader of the trio of soldiers said. "Our regiment is just here to make sure the honor is met."

"Eh? This is honor?" Louise had her wand grasped in her hand. How was she going to defeat this many people without a really huge explosion that would destroy the Charming Faerie Inn? Then she had an idea.

"This is a bit unfair. One hundred to three? And we aren't even the people you have a problem with," Guiche called out even as he clutched his rose-wand tightly.

"I'm a fair maiden and not suited for uncouth fighting," Montmorency said quickly, looking around frantically. "I don't even like Kirche and Tabitha." This was so unfair.

"Do not worry, we won't hurt you permanently," the stout soldier declared.

Louise had fallen into a specialized dueling stance that she remembered from her home. "You are the worst sort," she shouted in anger and then started chanting. Un-wind and then pure void. She really hoped this worked like they expected.

With a roar, a blast of wind struck the trio again, sending them flying into the side of a building and knocking them down and out again.

"It worked!" the strawberry-blonde called out in wonder. She had actually cast a regular wind spell by reversing her un-wind with void.

The rest of the soldiers froze, as they had not expected anyone to stand up to them and their numbers.

"The Zero cast a wind spell? How is that possible?" Montmorency cried out in shock. And a powerful wind hammer spell indeed.

"Get them!" the captain of the regiment called out as they all drew their wands. His soldiers moved forward in a swarm, leaving him at the back. That was the last thing he felt as pain blossomed from the back of his head.

Guiche quickly summoned five Valkyries, the he found them quickly attacked by three soldiers as six more leveled their wands at him. "Mercy!" he cried before wind and rocks slammed into him and pummeled him to the ground.

Montmorency was shrieking like a little girl even as Louise started dodging frantically different spell, sliding through the various spins and side-steps of her training. The poor water mage, though, was struck insensant instantly. Another chant of the unwind-voided spell and six more soldiers were sent flying by her air hammer. She parried two more sword-wands with her short, regular wand, giving ground rapidly.

That was when the black-camisole clad form of Sheila errupted into the middle of the battle striking and kicking with her open hands to disarm some more of the soldiers. "Leave my sister alone," Sheila declared quite falsely.

Several of the more hardened soldiers did not let up, sending their attacks towards Louise. Instead of striking her though, they hit her familiar who had moved quickly to block the attacks. "Sheila!"

Sheila winced slightly from a bruise on her hip. It appeared one of the Earth mages was actually a Line mage, as that probably would have hurt Louise a lot if it had hit. "I won't let them hurt you." Though she had to admit, against seventy soldiers, she might not be able to do that without giving away too much. They needed to stay working at the inn to listen in on the conspiracy! Her mind was trying to quickly work through plans and strategies as quickly as possible.

That was when the ground exploded under the feet from the stronger Earth mage again. Louise shrieked in pain as several well-timed air strikes hit her and Sheila. The Void mage landed hard as she felt someone holding her tight.

"Little girls should not pick fights with soldiers," one of the soldiers said with a sneer. Then he and several of his fellows sent blasts of air, rocks and even a few fireballs and hard-water spheres at the pair.

Sheila channeled her healing power into strengthening Louise even as she silently vowed that these louts would be taught a lessen later. Spells rained down on her back as she forced her mage to curl up into a ball as best as possible. "Play dead," she whispered into Louise's ear.

With laughs and slapping each other on their backs, the soldiers took their downed friends and headed down the street.

Sheila's reddish-brown eyes watched them through half-closed eyelids. She stood up easily, belying all the bruises and wounds on her body. "Louise?"

"I should be feeling worse," Louise admitted as she touched her bruised face. She felt something flow through as all of her wound suddenly disappeared at Sheila's touch. "That's so very handy."

Sheila finished helping her mage to her feet, then went and checked on the two other mages. Putting her hand on their shoulders, she channeled a little bit more of her legend to heal their bruises.

Montmorency started awake. She sat up, taking in the street and realized she really had been assaulted by soldiers for knowing Kirche and Tabitha. "How rude! I can't believe they did that!"

"Oh, Monmon? Are you all right?" the Earth mage asked as he took in her mussed appearance.

"I don't hurt at all," the water mage noted as they all stood up.

"Ah, my familiar is very good at healing," Louise said quickly.

"I've never seen her use a wand." Montmorency was studying Sheila closely. "Shouldn't you heal yourself?" She chanted a rune phrase to heal a bruise on the Scion's face with a point of her wand, which was about the best she could do.

"I actually can't cure myself that way. 'Heal thyself, Physician' is not something I can do," Sheila replied with a shrug. It was just a few bruises, she would heal them within the day naturally, rather than burn through some of her personal power to force her body to heal bruises faster.

"You are very, very odd," the water mage said, eyeing the scion closely.

"When did you finally learn how to cast wind like that, Louise?" Guiche asked curiously. So she was not a void mage? He was a bit confused.

"Oh, that was my first success." Louise was studying her familiar and going over the runic phrase that Montmorency had just used. She scrunched her eyes nearly closed as she thought hard. She had not gone over water too much. Very carefully, she chanted a new runic phrase, fighting her magic slightly. The water magic seemed to splash into her familiar, half-healing some of the wounds. "That wasn't what I was aiming for."

Montmorency was gaping with her mouth open. "You-you-you-you-"

"Is this the power of Void magic?" Guiche asked in a shocked whisper. He had always wondered how Brimir had founded all the elements while only have Void himself.

"Shsssssh!" Louise whispered. "Not so loud on the street. We are incognito here for a purpose."

"Ah, my apology, Louise. We shall have to hold our questions until later." With a gentle lift of his finger, he closed Montmorency's mouth.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Kirche asked as she led Tabitha back down from their private room ten minutes later.

"Fight," Tabitha noted aloud as she looked up from her book for just a second.

"Those soldiers came back and treated us poorly for knowing you," Guiche complained, then took a sip of his wine to compose himself.

"You should be ashamed at leaving us to getting beaten within an inch of our lives," Louise declared hotly.

"Funny, you don't look like you were beaten. Are you trying to put us on?" the busty red-head asked.

"We're all better now, thank you." Sheila gave her a cold look as she was passing by and heading to another table.

"Ah, woops." Kirche did not think that the demigoddess would lie to them about this. And that anger was almost scary.

"Are you going to explain how you can cast water and wind now?" Montmorency hissed out in a low voice.

"Eh?" the Germanian student asked, looking quite surprised.

Tabitha looked up from her book again and then bookmarked it. Closing the book, she studied Louise's face closely.

"Please be a little more quiet. It's a matter of manipulating what you can do with Void. Void can be used to negate elements or attributes. I combined both of those qualities... as a Line Void, I just realized, and it creates the regular element." She frowned at them as they did not seem to get. Well, Tabitha might understand, but it was hard to read the cold girl.

"How does that work? Two negatives do not make a positive," Kirche complained.

"Multiplicative versus additive negatives." Tabitha's eyes were widened as she went over the concept. "Powerful."

"Of course she is, but this would be less powerful, wouldn't it?" Guiche asked as he tried to think it through.

"She can potentially do all elements," Montmorency said quietly. "Fire, Wind, Water and Earth. And also lightning, ice and lava. Mud?" She really felt out of her depth with her meager skills in water. She would just have to work harder at improving her potions.

"Well, the teachers will actually be surprised when school starts back up. They'll probably look at finally assigning you a new runic name."

"No." Louise looked over at Sheila talking to another table to get their order. "The Zero is quite fine. It even fits me."

"I have to admit, dear friend Louise, I don't understand." Guiche lifted up his cup of wine to sip decorously.

The shortest mage present, Tabitha, nodded as her green eyes looked over at Louise for a second. "Void. Nothingness. Zero."

"Hmm. I see what you are saying Tabitha. And Louise taking her hated name and making it her strength is rather impressive. That speaks more of your character than I would have suspected, oh rival of mine," the red-head noted.

"So how long are you going to be in the city?" Montmorency asked Louise.

"Oh, not much longer, I'm sure." Louise gave them a smile.

* * *

Chapter 5: Part 4

Louise was very happy for days which allowed her earn some of the best tips with her cheerful demeanor. The morning arrived of the weekend and with it missive from the queen, so matters turned more serious. She wanted them to try and get as many names as possible and was going to have her new order of musketeers in the area to nab the conspirators.

"Are you sure you think you are ready to help with the private rooms?" Jessica asked curiously. Such help was always voluntary and strictly controlled by her father and herself.

"We should be allowed to try, correct?" Sheila asked. "I think I can handle it. And I can always ask for help."

Just like Henrietta's letter indicated, a female warrior wearing the emblem of the white lily appeared and asked for a seat by the stairs.

"And how my I address you, milady?" Louise asked as she bowed to the noble.

"I am Chevalier Agnes de la Milan," the woman said uncomfortably. "And your name is?" This had to be her contact, as there were only two blondes here with hair having a touch of red to them.

"I am Louise, milady. Would you like to view our wine list? Or perhaps a small order to start your lunch?"

"A good red wine and some of the stew," she asked casually. "Have they arrived?"

"Very good. You are the first of your party, of course." She gave a practiced smile with dimples and then curtsied to back off and then head to get her order.

Half an hour later and the first of the agitators had arrived and asked for a private room from the girl at the front door. Sheila stepped up before Jessica could get there (hadn't she been behind her?) and bowed. "I would be honored to be your hostess this afternoon."

Julliette blinked but then shrugged it off. "Sheila will show you to your room."

The sitting room had plush chairs set around a small fire and filled up with about ten men. They, for the most part, ignored Sheila unless they wanted a drink replenished from the bottles of wine they had ordered. On one of the trips, Louise had cast her spell to hear through her familiar's ears.

"We can't afford a war right now. The trade right now is very poor," a nasally merchanter said, his large mustache.

"Yet the queen insists, as she claims they attacked us with some form of foul magic." This fellow was thinner and had a pinched face under his long, unruly hair.

"I saw the breached gates myself, so I don't think they were lying about an attack." This was a fat man that worked at a smithy. "And I had to make the new hinges for its replacement door."

"Still, to declare war against Albion is suicidal," another merchant noted quickly. "They are well blooded after their war against their royal family. And isn't it unwise to protect that prince?"

"The agitator," Sheila said softly enough that only she and Louise could hear her. "Middle-aged man with dark hair and brown eyes. Carries a wand under his cloak. Has an accent similar to a fruit seller of Londonium. Recommend that he be followed to where he is staying." She smiled as she stepped into the room with another chilled bottle of wine.

Louise carried over a glass of wine to Agnes at her seat by the stairs. "Sheila thinks she has found the agitator. A noble in disguise, as he has a wand. A dark-haired merchant with brown hair."

The musketeer nodded at that. "Perhaps a sausage also? We should just grab him here. My men are around this area and ready to act."

"Should we not follow him to his lair?" the Void mage asked.

The short-haired woman frowned, as that did make sense. "As long as we don't lose him, I suppose."

Back in the private room, one of the men had enough. "Vaurnette, you keep saying that it is insane to attack Albion, but they have already attacked us at least once. Are we supposed to just allow them to keep trying until they succeed?" the stout smithy demanded. "I thought we were here to discuss the tax measures that the queen is calling for?"

"Ah, perhaps you are right, my goodman Terrance." The spy stood up for a moment. "Young lady, where may I take myself for my abulations?"

"Just down the back hall and in the small courtyard. Gentlemen, your orders for lunch should be nearly complete." Sheila bowed and then headed to the kitchens as she filled in Louise. "The spy did not stop at the outhouse." She started moving faster.

"The spy is making a break for it," Louise said as she quickly moved over to Agnes.

"They will become nervous when he does not return. We must not lose him." The young musketeer surged to her feet as she pulled out her sword and flint lock. "To me, my men." She saw a blur of a black camisole move past her.

Men and woman among the crowd stood up, pulling swords and pistols as they descended upon the private room and the commoners within.

The spy travelled through the city, doubling back to make sure he was not followed as his instincts told him he had been discovered. But he had never looked upwards to spot the girl wearing nothing but her outfit from the Charming Faerie Inn and a cloak she had grabbed. He slipped into an inn and then unlocked the door to his room.

Immediately he started to pull out papers and throw them onto his bed. He turned to look at the door as he hear a knock there. "What?"

"Sleep tight in your bed tonight..." Sheila said in a soft voice as she pushed against the door. The spy immediately fell asleep as the door's lock broke open.

* * *

Richmon stepped out of his carriage as he saw soldiers moving around, checking everyone closely. It appears the queen's disappearance last night seemed to have set off quite a firestorm among the military. What a tizzy this had caused on the day of Void. He swept past the ticket counter imperiously, as one of his duties was to censor the plays that the Royal Theater.

The play was a love story about a princess and a prince that came to Tristain as quite a tragedy. The actors were quite atrocious, but Richmon was not too worried as he took in the grand opulence of the theater while waiting for his contact.

Sheila leaned over to Louise. Today she had her regular, long blonde hair under a beret and dress to match Louise. "All of the actors have wands."

"The queen is quite prepared," Louise noted even as she made sure to put her hand upon her own wand.

Henrietta had Sheila pick her up to disappear into the city to draw out the traitor among her advisors. He had, when informed by the musketeer Agnes, immediately informed his spy by courier. The poor boy had not realized anything unusual for passing the letter into the darkened room and the cloaked up figure.

Richmon was becoming slightly worried as the play started and his contact had not appeared. That was when a dark-haired woman in a cloak sat next to him.

"What a passing fancy it is to meet here," Henrietta said softly to one of her father's old advisors. "And to sit here exactly."

"Oh? And what brings you to the theater when your men search for you?" the Justice of the High Court asked adroitly, not letting his shock show at all.

"A traitor among the nobility. I would have thought my last lesson on the costs would have been taken better, but it appears that some have decided to ignore this," she replied in a hard tone. She could do this.

"You are accusing myself? I hope you would not do so foolishly." The mustached court noble smiled thinly as he played his position at court. None of his allies would convict him in the courts.

"Yes, indeed. And to be brought before my justice directly also."

That caused Richmon to frown. He had forgotten that traitors to the crown could by convincted directly by the reigning king or queen. He stood up and moved to walk out. "What a terrible thing to say. And your father would be disappointed in you."

"I'm afraid it is far too late to leave, Baron Richmon. You have set your neck within your noose and it draws to a close." Henrietta did not bother to stand.

Richmon smiled thinly. "You need to work upon your showmanship, your majesty. It appears I must take my leave of Tristain." He held up his wand to let loose a bang and a spark. "My allies, it appears we must take a hostage with us. Do be pleasant fellows and take her in hand."

The truly atrocious actors all pulled their wands, causing a gasp to envelope the mostly female audience.

"Now!" a rough looking fellow called out as twenty members of the audience threw back their cloaks. Upon the sleeve of his tabbard he bore a red lily. Men and woman of the red and white lily order raised up their readied flintlocks and with a roaring boom, forever silenced the faux-actors and their lives.

Louise had her wand out. "Stay still, traitor! To raise your wand against the queen is your death."

At her side, Sheila had pulled her silver pistol out. "We'll need to get them better guns," Sheila noted absently.

Richmon looked around, seeing no escape through the doorways. He bowed to the queen at his waist. "You surprised me with your ruthlessness. Not a glimmer of regret shows on your face. But it is time for me to depart." He took two more steps and was about to trigger the trapdoor when two cracks from Sheila's pistol sounded, disintergrating his knees. With a scream of pain, he collapsed.

"You don't need to walk to the gallows," the demigoddess called out in a cold voice. "And public executions send a far stronger message."

Queen Henrietta's eyes glittered in controlled anger as she stood. "Arrest that man. He will be hanged in the dark of the morning."

And with that, she swept out of the theater with Louise and Sheila trailing behind her.

* * *

Agnes was a bit put out as she entered the queen's sitting room and knelt before her queen. She had not gotten the chance to kill Richmon herself. But at least he would die, even if not for the murder of her village. "Your majesty, all of the traitors are being interviewed. You just have to give the order and they will be dealt with."

Henrietta looked at the musketeer for a long moment. "Rise, Agnes. Such a terrible matter has befallen me."

Sheila coughed a bit to get the queen's attention as the musketeer stood back up uncertainly. The demigoddess was back in her Valliere livery. "You majesty, I would just give some of them a scare. They appear to have been dragged into this conspiracy and were mostly grumbling about rising taxes."

"But they were meeting with enemies of the state and the queen!" Louise protested.

"I, too, have to wonder at this. Do you think they are harmless?" Agnes had a hard gleam in her eyes.

"Harmless? No, not really. Dupes and fools, yes. And men that do not have a forum to try to bring up grievances with your majesty's policy. I'm sure a scary stay in the dungeons for a day or two and then a release worded carefully about your majesty's sadness that they could be led astray by the enemies of Tristain." Sheila seemed to consider something for a moment. "As long as they have only been detained and not tortured."

Louise gasped as she turned to look at the Captain Chevalier of the Pale Lily. "They have not, have they?"

"No, we have had no need. Does this idea hold merit, Queen Henrietta?" Agnes replied as she thought over the matter. "I do not recommend the release of three of them, but the other are probably as Chevalier Sheila states."

"Yes, then let them stay this evening and be released publicly with our sadness at their actions." That seemed to relax the kind and gentle queen. "With the loss of Richmon, the anti-war faction here at the palace is in disarray. Finally we will be able to properly gather the army to invade Albion."

Louise sighed at that, though she knew the war was necessary, she know also knew that many young men would be killed. "If only there was something we could do."

Sheila stood up from her plush blue seat. "There are many things we can do, my mage. I know of some things that _can_ help us win the war, but I am loathe to unleash them upon this world without proper measures taken to prevent unpleasant future calamities."

"What sort of magics are you referring to?" the short-haired musketeer captain asked.

"Not magic but science." Sheila reached to her shoulder holster and pulled out her pistol. "This is a weapon from my land."

"The flintlock that can fire twice! My women mentioned that you shot both of Richmon's knees out with a single weapon!" Agnes said as her eyes hid a gleam of covetousness.

"The standard version of this weapon can fire twelve times without reloading and is about as accurate as most of your longarm flintlocks. And if I just gave this to you, I may be signing your future generations into a war between noble and commoners."

"Eh? How would that happen?" Louise exclaimed loudly, then covered her mouth as she looked over at her queen in mortification.

"Please explain, Chevalier." The queen suddenly looked a bit wary.

"Without reform that allows the commoners to have some say in governance, this will be as a tool to allow them to _take_ their place. In the history of my lands, this happened several times. I would rather not see such strife happen to you or Tristain," Sheila explained carefully. This could explode spectacularly in her face if she was not careful.

"I see, that is a scary future your speak of. So these weapons should not be allowed to be created then?" Henrietta asked.

"They will be invented no matter what you hope and come to the field of battle, my queen. No, rather what I think you should do is to create a portion of your government that is led by elected commoners. That way they have some power within the nation and you are making them your allies against the sort of havoc that a full rebellion against the crown would entail."

"I could never give them as much power as the Lords of Parliament," the queen protested.

"At first, no. And maybe never as much the nobles have, as they do have magic at the beck and call. But granting them some powers, like to review taxation will check the power of nobles and yourself or to bring up grievances to the court are possible."

"Eh? The queen's power is absolute!" the Void mage exclaimed again, this time forgetting to be embarrassed for her outburst.

Agnes actually chuckled at that. "No, we just saw the queen's power is not. This Parliament of Commoners sounds like it might do what you are thinking of."

"It does hold some appeal. No longer would commoners have no voice except a kind noble at court."

"Exactly, you majesty. Situations like Ragdorian Lake will have some means of being brought to attention before they flood your entire country."

The queen nodded. "I do see. We shall have to go over these powers we would have to grant the commoners. I fear that the nobles will fight me tooth and nail though."

"Change is scary, your majesty," Sheila admitted.

"So what sort of weapons would you be able to give the army?" Agnes finally asked.

All of the native Tristain nobles were interested at this.

"Rifles and six-shooters, I think. Both of them using metal-cartridge shots which will get rid of quite a few of the problems of misfiring in rain and increase the rate of fire and accuracy considerably. I might be able to create a few lighter weight cannons also."

"You can make cannons that can fire that fast?" Agnes asked in shock.

"No, not quite as fast, though a breach-loaded cannon could become a lot faster than you would expect. Once ever five to ten seconds is possible, though I may not be able to make that good of a weapon with limited materials."

The queen and her musketeer were both considering the matter closely.

"How good are these 'rifles'?" Agnes asked carefully.

"They should be able to fire ten round accurately in ten seconds out to a range of up to five hundred yards. I will probably add a bayonet for melee and weapon sights for sniping," Sheila replied carefully, going over the lever-action rifle she had considered in her mind. "We will need to buy most of the mercury on the market, which I would suggest you do all in one day."

"Mercury? That is a little expensive," the queen noted worriedly. Money matters had become a large part of her daily headaches.

"Not much is needed per cartridge, but they are very important for the rapid fire weapons."

"Louise, I will leave it up to you to purchase all the mercury you can while your familiar goes to the Royal Tristain foundry. Let me pen a writ for you to take charge of both matters," the queen said in determination. "Then I shall start to make a draft of the Parliament of Commoners."

"I would be more than happy to give you insights from my lands, Queen Henrietta," Sheila said immediately.

The queen nodded as she dismissed her closest advisors. As her eyes drifted to the windows that were letting in the wan sunlight of the afternoon, she wondered what sort of weapons existed in the land where the demigoddess was from. She had the feeling that this was only the tip of the sword.

* * *

"Well, that should be the last apothecary of the city," Sheila said as she put the last heavy vial into a rucksack. "And close to a hundred pounds of mercury." The poor bag was straining to hold the weight that the demigoddess was not having a problem holding.

"Now to the foundry?" Louise asked curiously.

"Certainly. The noble in charge is probably not going to be too thrilled with me being put in a position that might trump his own, even with the queen's papers."

They traveled through the bustling town, commoners giving both of them a respectful distance around the noble and her servant that were walking side by side. The foundry of Tristain was actually just barely within the walled section down by the river.

Two regular soldiers stood at the gates. "Halt! Who goes there?" the older guard with an eye patch shouted out.

"Chevalier Louise de la Valliere and Chevalier Sheila Henderson with a writ from the queen," Sheila called out easily.

"Eh? A writ?" the guard asked stupidly. "What does it say?"

"It is orders from her majesty Queen Henrietta de la Tristain for use of these facilities by myself. My mage is accompanying me to see how this matter ends up. Who is in charge?"

"That would be Colonel de la Puuriens, ma'am. Milady, I mean."

It actually did not take that long to be escorted to the colonel's office. His desk was cluttered with papers and hard liquor bottles. The man himself was a bit overweight and had a large, red nose.

"Chevalier Sheila? And you do seem to have the writ of orders. What exactly does this entail?" he asked in confusion. It appears he had been drinking a bit too much.

"I'm here to see about crafting some advanced long arms and pistols for the invasion. After I've got a manufacturing line set up for six-shooters and rifles, I will see about making a few cannons," the demigoddess replied.

"Eh? You are a smithy?" the officer of the army asked. "Pardon my manners, my ladies. Would you like a splash of Old Victors?"

"No thanks," Louise replied.

"Not as you would understand it. I have engineering training and will need some access to your laboratory and foundry. Hopefully not more than ten men to begin with. Time is being wasted and we have a lot of ground to cover."

And with that the poor Colonel de La Puuriens was dragged to the main chemical building where Sheila went over their process for making black powder and started to mentally juggle the steps requires to add stabilizers and create mercury fullimates. She had the head chemist take charge of the mercury and add it to his stores under a specific guard. Coincidently, they also discovered another pound of mercury was already on site.

Then they (and about four men) headed to the main foundry and smithy building. The head smith was in the process of putting together a large mould for a cannon. By the size, Sheila estimated that it was likely for a airship.

"Colonel? Is there a problem?" Smith Weyland asked. While not a noble, he was highly skilled and knew his job.

"The queen has asked us to cooperate with these gentle ladies of the court with some weapon making. Not sure I understand all the particulars myself," Puuriens said as he fiddled with his hip flask. His whole day had been ruined by this visit. The palace was supposed to give him warning when they were doing an inspection.

"Do you have any scrap we can have to transmute to brass?" Sheila asked politely. "My mage needs a bit of practice and the brass will be useful."

Weyland nodded and then pointed at some rocks that were being used as a piling. "A mage, eh? We sometimes have to hire one to transmute things that are not in stock. Usually too expensive, but brass is easy if I remember right."

"You want to try to go all out on that pile, my mage?" the demigoddes asked.

"All out? Are you sure?" Louise did not remember a time when she had tried to go all out with one of her spells.

"Sure. You willpower should replenish fast enough." Especially with a little nudge from Sheila's own legend at times.

Puurien watched in interest. He was actually a line Earth mage, so this would be a good gauge of the little girl's power. He frowned as she started her chant. He did not recognize even half of the runes she was using. What sort of magic was this.

Louise had finally built her chant to the maximum power she could push into it. "Transmute!" she shouted as she pointed her wand at the pile of rocks. With a wave, the rocks seemed to flicker then wash over the brass color.

The colonel whistled. The girl must be at least a Triangle mage, as she seems to have transmuted the entire pile of rocks.

"You might have over done it a bit, Louise. I think you got part of the ground, too." Sheila went over a picked up a thirty pound piece of brass. "For a prototype, I only need a small work area."

Weyland nodded to an unused work area. It was where he did some of his fine detail work.

Louise watched in surprise as Sheila somehow seemed to do things far, far too fast. The brass was quickly made into dozens of long tubes and flat coins with holes in the middle even as she somehow cobbled together several devices to press and molded them into short tubes capped on one end.

One of the chemist was sent to fetch nitric acid and ethanol, which she fairly carefully poured the a small portion of mercury into a vial of nitric acid to disolve, then into a container of ethanol, setting it to start to foam and froth under her care. Even here things seemed to go fairly fast, though the chemist was watching carefully and asking a few questions at times. The mercury fullimate was finally put into small caps and carefully pressed into the bottom caps of the cartridges.

While the mercury was finishing its catalyzing, Sheila had started crafting a mold for a few dozen parts out of basic steel.

Puurien and Weyland were both watching in astonishment as the girl finished the first of her contraptions in just a half an hour.

It only vaguely looked like a pistol as she added a brass fitted handle. "You'll probably want to use wood for this," she noted to Weyland who just nodded cautiously.

Grains of blackpowder were poured into the caps in specific amounts and then a fairly standard bullet was capped onto the cartridges.

"Pre-packaged rounds? I've never heard of that," Puurien noted aloud. "And how do you get the flint to work?"

"It doesn't need flint," she reported as she slipped in the first of the several dozen bullets into the gun and snapped the revolver into its slot. "Is there a place we can test this out?"

"Of course, my lady. We have a yard with a small hill that we sometimes test the muskets with." Weyland led them out the back to where a small mound of dirt was piled near the city walls.

Sheila placed a board up against it and then stepped back fifty feet. She held up the new gun in a proper two-handed grip, cocked the hammer and fired it quickly six times, neatly placing all six bullets in a circle on the board.

Colonel Puurien, Weyland and all the men gaped, as it had literally been one shot right after another.

"A repeating flintlock? No, it doesn't use flint and a strike hammer and pan," Weyland stammered in shock. His whole day had become a bit unglued but he could not draw his eyes from the weapon as she quickly put six more cartridges and bullets in the pistol.

"A six-shooter pistol. It's a sturdy, simple design that you should be able to learn how to make in fairly short orders. I believe the queen will want at least one hundred before the invasion of Albion starts." Sheila raised the pistol up and fired five more times, putting four holes on the outside of the circle and one in the inside.

Louise suddenly realized why Sheila was so insistent on the changes in the government. A commoner with a gun really could match a mage at range. "So who gets this first six-shooter?" she asked her familiar.

"Why you, of course. We'll have to get a leather maker to make a harness and holster, but I think a pistol might be a very good fallback weapon."

Louise took the weapon from her familiar gingerly. It was heavier than expected. "I suppose."

"Now lets look at a long arm version." That had worked about as well as she hoped. She had not had to use that trick of intellect in months and it was nice to see she could still craft solutions like uncle Hephaestus had shown her.


	6. Home Coming and War

**Part I Prodigal Homecoming**

Louise looked at herself in the tall mirror in her room dubiously just a few weeks later. She was wearing a breastplate with arm and shoulder guards; her dagger, dueling-wand and the now ivory-grip pistol at her hips. A short armored skirt was about her waist even as you could see armored boots below the hem of her short skirt. One thing she detested was the helmet that Sheila had crafted over the last week with the armor, so had not been included. "I don't like it," she complained. "It's heavy and smells foul."

"Armor, even the type I can craft, can't be perfect, Louise. And it might save your life during the war." Sheila had also made herself a set of armor, made of heavier materials but only slightly more encumbering than her mage's. The light armor of high-gothic form had been modified so that it allowed her an almost full amount of movement.

Both suits looked very fancy with embossing to increase the strength of the structure. The doped steel alloy had been a bear to work with, even for Sheila's strength. Louise had no idea how strong her armor actually was.

That was when the door banged open and a blonde-haired woman entered the room imperiously, only to find herself staring down the point of the black-steel broadsword from three inches.

"Your sister, my mage?" Sheila asked formally, then pulled the sword back to slide it back into her hip sheath.

"Eleanor?" Louise asked in stupification.

"How dare you draw a sword upon a noble?" the blonde woman demanded.

"I thought you might have been an assassin. You are lucky that you did not end up wounded," the demigoddess noted in a bland tone.

"Like someone would attempt to kill my useless little sister. But that is a matter for a different time. Louise, father has sent me to collect you to speak to you about this nonsense about joining the war effort." Eleanor had her wand out and was already packing Louise's belongings into luggage that appeared from beneath the bed.

"Louise?" Sheila asked in a querying tone.

The younger girl sighed, then nodded. "I guess it is to be expected." Louise then stepped back.

A long, wooden case floated over from where it was leaning against the dresser. "What is this?" Eleanor asked suspiciously.

"Ah, that's where Derflinger is resting from his repairs," Sheila explained.

"I'm sorry, are you demented? You are acting like this thing is alive," the older woman said in quite the affronted tone.

"Derflinger is an enchanted, intelligent sword. Recently I asked him if he wanted to be repaired." Sheila opened the custom sword case to pull out the repaired sword. The bracing along the back part by the hilt had been removed and a new hilt and guard had been added to the pristine, single-edged blade. You could not even see the cracked part of the blade that the bracing had covered and that she had wielded. "Normally he has quite a mouth, but ever since I did the major work on him, he has been silent. Hopefully his magic is just stabilizing." And she had not killed him with over estimating her skills.

"Though I haven't had to hear one of his bawdy jokes, so its not all-"

"Whoa, hotcha! Babe in the castle!" the sword suddenly shouted out. "Blonde and glasses! I bet you are smart and sassy!"

Louise actually groaned at that. "How are you feeling, Derf?"

"It's Derflinger! I feel a lot better. I'm glad I took that chance to get fixed up. I have to say, I do clean up well!"

"Why, I'm quite impressed, Louise. This is better than I thought of you, though why you own a magic sword is beyond me."

"Sister, you are being mean again," Louise complained. Her brownish-red eyes widened as Eleanor suddenly reached out to grab at Louise's cheeks.

Two _very_ strong hands stopped her. "Please do not put your hands upon my mage without permission," Sheila said in a very cold voice.

"Who are you, girl, to tell me what to do?" Eleanor tried to pull her hands back.

"I am Chevalier Sheila and Louise's familiar. Her safety and wellbeing are of my utmost concern," the blue-green eyed girl said stiffly. She then very carefully released her grip when Eleanor was not pulling hard so she did not fall down.

"A human familiar? That's impossible," the woman said.

"Are you sure? The Gandalfr runes on my hand say otherwise." Sheila held up Derflinger by said hand so she could see the glowing runes.

That actually threw the twenty-five year old woman off slightly. "Gandalfr? You must be joking! That would mean Louise would have to be a _Legendary_ mage, not the Zero."

Louise's hands were clenched at her side as her arms trembled. A weighted gauntlet settled on her shoulder and blue-green eyes stared into her own. Calming herself with what she knew to be the truth, she then responded with, "I take it you brought a carriage?"

"Of course. Since there are two of us heading home, we really should have a maid to wait upon us," Eleanor said as she seemed to consider the matter.

"Why did you not bring one from the Academia where you are a researcher?" Louise asked suspiciously.

"They all claimed to have important work to do for their own nobles. Tis very vexing to be denied. But I'm sure that Old Osmond will not have a problem loaning me one of the school's maids considering that half of his students are enrolling into the military."

She led them imperiously down the hallway and down the stairs, their luggage levitating behind them.

"I know of one of the maids that is an adventurous sort," Sheila said diffidently. "I'm sure she would not mind accompanying Louise and yourself, milady Eleanor."

"Oh? That would be better than a useless lump, I suppose. Do hurry off so we are not waiting long."

Sheila bowed at the waist and then departed. Hopefully Siesta would be willing.

Ten minutes later they returned with a small amount of luggage for the maid.

"Thank you for the opportunity to serve, lady Louise de la Valliere," Siesta said with a smile and a bow.

There were two carriages that had golem drivers. Horses were being watered and fed by the stable hands.

"Are we taking the scenic route on purpose, my mage?" Sheila asked diffidently.

Eleanor narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. "What does that mean?" she demanded of her younger sister.

"I think this is her way of offering to get us to Castle Voltaire in a faster means," Louise said after a moment. "Are we planning on taking a scenic view?"

"No, father's letter did order me to return with you quickly after you did not reply to his letter ordering you home. So if your _familiar_ can get us to our home quicker, then be about it." Eleanor entered the carriage and sat next to Louise in the back.

The luggage was quickly moved to the first carriage and Sheila directed Siesta to enter in it while she disconnected the horse, sending them all back to be handled by the stable boy.

"What are you doing?" the magic researcher demanded as she stuck her head out of the carriage.

"I'm not carrying the horses to your home, milady. They are going to be superfluous anyways," Sheila called out.

"Elder sister, please trust in my familiar. We shall probably be home in time for luncheon," Louise said with a soft smirk

"If this is a childish prank, Louise, I shall be quite wroth with you." The older sister was not sure what to make of this more self-assured sister of hers.

"Already so high? And now we are starting to move," Siesta exclaimed eagerly. She had always wanted to fly.

They had barely felt any motion it had been so smooth. Eleanor eyes widened as she looked out to see that they really were flying at a fast pace through the air.

"So how is mother?" Louise asked her sister as she settled her dueling wand like she had seen soldier-mages do.

* * *

It was actually just an hour past noon when Sheila carefully set the carriage down in front of the draw bridge. Grabbing the front harness, she casually dragged it behind her. The drawbridge lowered for them.

"I do have to admit that was quite a surprise that your familiar is so magical," Eleanor said as they passed the guards at the huge gate. Huge, twenty foot tall statues lined the way in military splendor. Under the massive stone statues' gaze, they continued into the courtyard.

Siesta opened the door and quickly pulled out the steps, bowing as Eleanor then Louise exited the conveyance.

"I guess that was rather silly to bring a maid when our trip was only four hours," the older sister grumbled. She seemed annoyed that Louise's familiar had changed their schedule so radically.

An owl winged over from the main building. It landed on Sheila's outstretched gauntlet and then bowed to Eleanor and Louise. "Lady Eleanor, Lady Louise; welcome home," it called out in the simple language of Halkgenia.

The oldest Valliere smiled at the servant. "Where is mother?"

"She awaits you in her sitting room and has ordered that the servants prepare a late lunch," the owl replied formally."

"Then be off to let her know that we shall be there shortly." With that, Eleanor headed of at a brisk walk into the castle. Louise followed along, frowning as she wondered if she would be home longer than expected. Sheila launched the owl into the air with a couple of clicks of her tongue.

The sitting room was a western-facing room that overlooked the main courtyard. An older, stately women who looked to be in her mid-forties sat next to a cozy fire in the darkly furnished room of lush hardwoods. Three servants were in attendance already.

"Daughters, welcome home," she said formally. Her blue eyes studied her youngest daughter in her new armor. "You look almost serious in that armor, Louise. And who is your companion?" Her eyes catalogued the stranger with two swords and a dagger, with long blonde hair tied back in a simple ponytail.

"This is my familiar, Chevalier Sheila de la Henderson," Louise replied promptly.

Sheila bowed at her waist for a long moment. "Your highness."

"A human familiar? So you finally discovered your element, Louise?" Karin Desiree de la Valliere's blue eyes were quite hard as she turned to her daughter.

"I have, mother. This is why the queen has called me to her army against Albion," the youngest daughter admitted.

"Well, do not leave us in suspence, sister," Eleanor said briskly.

"It is Void," Louise said simply.

Both her mother and her sister blinked at that eve as the four servants gasped in shock.

"Daughter, are you seriously expecting us to believe that you use the same element as the Founder himself?" Karin asked harshly.

Louise almost quailed at that look.

"There is an easy way to show them, my mage. Simply produce a small amount of all the elements one after another. Though perhaps outside? You are still improving your control and I doubt they want any of the furniture damaged," her familiar noted in a calm voice.

"Y-yes, that is correct."

"Then let us retire to the courtyard," the matron of the Valliere ordered as she stood. "Lunch should be ready afterwards."

Siesta followed behind the four nobles, as she had not been dismissed.

Karin pointed at some archery targets. "Show me your spells," she said simply. Eleanor just shook her head as she settled in to watch her sister fail again.

Louise's dueling wand sent out a fairly large ball of fire, incinerating one target. A second target was smashed against the wall by a gust of wind, while her third chant sent a second one to smash against the wall by a jet of water. The final target was crushed under a large boulder. Emboldened by her success, she then exploded another target with a pure void spell that exploded it into splinters.

Her mother was frowning heavily. "Each of those was at least Line in power, which is impossible You would have to be an octagon or decagon mage."

Sheila frowned at that, but filed the information away for future research and reference.

Eleanor's mouth had just dropped open comically as her little sister, the failure, had put on an impossible display of magic.

"I can use void to bring forth all of the normal elements," Louise said as a smile appeared on her face. She had proved to her mother that she could cast magic. That she was not a failure!

Even the duchesses' poise was slightly askew at this turn of events. "How are you able to cast Void so proficiently? It is a lost magical art."

"My dear, dear familiar started me on the path and with what we have discovered within the Founder's Prayer book, we were able to learn even more. The potential of my magic I feel is quite high. Which is why I have signed up to join the invasion of Albion."

"Mother, even if she has that element, she should not go to war. War is men's business," Eleanor exclaimed haughtily, finally getting her poise back.

"That is not for us to decide alone, daughter. We shall await for your father to return." With that, Karin walked off at a stately pace with her robes not ruffling behind her.

Siesta had been given permission to retire to the servants quarters for a while after assisting Sheila and Louise from divesting themselves of their armor and changing outfits. The late lunch was of high quality, matching the best that the Academy could offer.

"I do apologize, this is poor quality for our table," Karin said after the first course was completed and the second course was being set by the trove of servants.

"If this is poor quality, then the normal faire of your table must be beyond exquisite," Sheila replied politely.

"So you are a chevalier?" Eleanor asked carefully. "How did you and Louise earn that title?"

"We were instrumental in capturing of a notorious thief and stopping the invasion of Tarbes," she replied truthfully.

"Your sword was of that great of use?" the eldest daughter asked dubiously.

"I don't think I even used Derflinger at that time, actually. My lightning bolts and flight were more than enough to assist Louise with her explosions and dispels that grounded their second attack," the demigoddess explained as she half-expected the sword to start talking. Surprisingly, he stayed silent.

"So you have magic then? That is quite unusual then. Not only a human, but a mage." Karin was studying both of them quite closely.

Sheila and Louise shared a long look, as if to judge the situation.

"That is close, I guess," Louise finally said.

Eleanor had been studying her features for the entire time. "And what lands do you hail from?"

"None that I'm afraid you would find familiar, pardon the pun. Louise summoned me from the Underworld, which is an impressive achievement for someone that had little control of her magic." Sheila took a small sip of her wine.

The duchess frowned at that. "No mortal could live in the realm of the dead."

"That would be correct, as I am only half human. My mother's side of my family can handle the rigors of such a realm quite handily," Sheila replied blandly. Karin had picked up on that more quickly than anyone else had.

"Yet your ears are round," the duchess noted.

"I have no elven blood in my lineage that I am aware of," she replied truthfully.

"Eh? Sheila, that makes it sound mysterious," her void mage replied as a servant set a bowl of soup in front of her.

"I was not told of my father." She shrugged at that as it was the truth. She had her foster parents, but her 'natural' mother had never mentioned her other natural parent. "In truth, I don't think my mother thought it was important."

"Oh? And who is your mother?" Eleanor asked in polite curiousity.

"Athena Parthenos or sometimes called Pallas Athena." Would she recognize the name-

The eldest daughter dropped her spoon with a clatter, splashing soup upon her pristine dress. "You jest. That is heresy."

"Eleanor, your manners," Karin said in a serene, yet hard manner.

A servent had moved up to help dab at the mess as Eleanor looked at Sheila as if she were seeing a viper in front of her. "What you state is impossible. Or should be impossible."

"Perhaps a matter to discuss privately, as it could impact your family?" the demigoddes stated simply.

Louise had turned a bit pale as the conversation with Eleanor had turned difficult. "I think that would be best."

Karin narrowed her eyes. "A matter to discuss with your father when he returns in a few days then."

"Mother, is elder sister Cattyla home?" her youngest daughter asked hopefully.

"She is currently visiting a water healer in La Rochelle. She should be home any day, as she was also summoned."

"Has she become more ill?" Louise asked more worriedly.

"No more than before, she is just weak. The healers can not cure her frailty, though they have managed to keep her alive."

With that, Louise descended down into a gloom for the rest of the meal and Sheila did not feel the need to restart the conversation.

* * *

Eleanor had made sure that evening that Sheila was assigned to a seperate room, far from Louise in a move seemingly to 'protect' her from the demigoddess.

So after bidding her mage good night, Sheila took up a vigil and started to patrol the adjoining halls. It was late when she heard the furitive movement heading in her direction in the dimly lit castle

"Siesta? It is quite late," Sheila said from down the hall and up a small set of stairs.

"Ah! Sheila, I was just looking for you and your room has not been slept in," the maid said, her cheeks slightly rosey. The scent of expensive wine was on her breath.

"Are you all right? I don't think I've ever seen you drinking before," she said as she moved up in a fast glide.

"Only a glass. Or two. I had to fortify my spirit to ask a question." The dark-haired maid was wringing her hands at her waist. "I need a job away from the Academy, but if I quit I am sure I will not get nearly as good a job in the future."

"How did you get a job there at the academy? That really is quite far from Tarbes," the demigoddess noted. In the dark, you could only see the hilts of her swords, her face and her long, blonde hair.

"Oh, I met Old Osmond when he was travelling through Tarbes. He seemed keen that I work at his Academy."

"The old pervert strikes again," Sheila said with a sigh. "And you are not trying to get hired here, of course. So that means you are thinking of Louise and becoming her personal handmaid."

"Exactly. And with you heading off to war, that means I would go with you to Albion and I could finally be away from my duties at the school."

Blue-green eyes studied her in the darkness. "Have you fallen for the prince?" she asked softly, surprising herself for the insight.

The maid gave a sad hiccuping sigh as tears traversed down her cheeks suddenly. "I know, I am very foolish to have fallen for him while tending to his bed-ridden self. That's why I wish to seek some way to not be constantly there and sent to treat him."

"I think Louise would agree. She does love her queen and cares greatly for the queen's love of Wales." Sheila gave her a slight hug. "You should go back to your guest room and sleep that off. Drinking isn't a good solution."

"Thank you," the maid cried out and then hugged Sheila quite hard. Then she turned and trotted off in a much better mood.

The demigoddess stood there bemused at the strange love triangles developing around her. With a shake of her head, she turned to her left. "Did that tell you anything, Eleanor?"

The muted hiss of a gasp was all the sister let loose. "I thought to check upon you to make sure you were situated fine only to find you not sleeping in your bed." Her glasses reflected the moonlight off her glasses as she stepped out of the shadows and past a window.

"That location is too far to be able to hear if Louise is attacked. That is all. I can go without sleep for a few days if need be." Or longer, she thought to herself.

"You are quite devoted to my sister. But I do not know that I can trust you," the eldest sister said as she narrowed her eyes.

"It might be more accurate to state that I am being ensnarled within her legend. With her having Void like your Founder, then she will probably change the course of Halkgenia," Sheila said coolly as she leaned up against the wall. "Or does the thought of your little sister exceeding you cause an unpleasant jealousy within your heart?"

"That is not the case. I think she is just over reaching herself," the blond adult protested.

"Yet that is the only way to grow. Louise _never_ quit, even when everyone told her she had zero skill in magic, even though it was obvious that she was quite powerful just from the explosions as she tried to use Void as a normal element."

"And then you helped her," Eleanor accused.

"Of course, she is my mage. What familiar would not? The fact that I am smarter than any animal just means I can help her succeed in not only magic, but socially and in her military actions."

"Her play-acting as a mage-warrior is going to get her killed," the older woman snapped out.

"Her coddling nearly got her killed by the traitor Wardes," Sheila rebutted harshly. "She no longer has the option of being just 'normal' so we must make her exceed all expectations. Her magic is not a well kept secret. Already the Church and her enemies are positioning themselves to manipulate or kill her."

"And will the church burn her for heresy?"

"Over my dead body." And Sheila's eyes seemed to nearly glow in the darkness, sending a chill down Eleanor's back. She also could almost hear, 'And over a very large pile of their bodies in turn.'

* * *

Louise lashed out in a parry, then a reposte to try and catch the armored figure in front of her as she charged her dueling-wand with a magical cutting spell. Sweat was covering her body as she struggled to move in the light armor. They were dueling across the main courtyard as soldiers watched from the wall.

"This dueling is something Brimir never needed to do. He always had his familiars," Derflinger said with a sniff from Sheila's back as she blocked and parried with her fake dueling-wand.

"Luckily Louise can. All right, let's have you cast some powerful spells," Sheila said as she silently reinforced Louise body in case she hit herself with the edge of one of her own spells.

"Right!" Louise quickly fell into a defensive tempo as she chanted quick explosion spell. Rather than try to hit Sheila directly, she aimed for the ground below her target.

The explosion was deafening as Louise instinctively put her guantlet in front of her face to block the shrapnel. "Ooh, I might have overdone that."

"Just a bit, that would have hurt you if I hadn't protected you earlier," was the bedraggled figure's response. This was a very decent test of her new armor. "Ouch."

Siesta blinked in astonishement from the sidelines over sixty feet away where she was setting up a table for the girls to refresh themselves with drinks and iced fruit.

"Now a fireball while dodging!" Sheila called out as she ducked backwards.

Louise ducked to the side as Sheila dropped her wand at her and blasted a lightning bolt front its tip to where she had been standing, frazzling the strawberry-blonde's hair. "Too close!"

"Incentive then," she shouted back in a jibing tone.

Louise's face reddened and turned down in a scowl. She chanted a little longer and then unleashed a firestorm spell that had been a famous Wind-Fire spell from her grandfather.

Half of the courtyard exploded in a swirling maelstrom of flaming sheets, hungrily devouring all the air and creating a massive updraft.

"Dispel it!" Sheila shouted as she rocketed out of the fire tornado at full speed. She skidded across the soft dirt in a very fast roll, putting herself out.

Louise chanted again quickly, with a surge of her will, dispelled the massive spell. "I think I overdid that one, too." Now her face was red from a light burn and her armor felt very uncomfortable from the heat.

"Just a bit," Sheila said from the ground as she healed the worst of her wounds. With a creak of stressed metal, she stood back up.

"We shall have to work on your control, Louise," Duchess Karin said as she exited from a doorway of the main building and started walking down the winding stairs. With her was the blonde Eleanor and another strawberry-blond girl that looked like a slightly older Louise. A gaggle of servants followed them out with more refreshements.

"Mother!" the girl whined. "Sisters!" She dashed over and gave a quick, perfunctionary hug to Eleanor and and a much tighter hug to the middle sister Cattyla.

"My word, did you do all this?" the older girl asked as she looked around. Most of the courtyard had been denuded of grass and the walls looked slightly shiny.

"A very impressive casting of firestorm. I don't think the old duke could have done a better job in his heyday," Karin admitted. "Your form is a bit sloppy. You stopped for too long on that last three chants."

"We have only been practicing for a little over a month, your highness," Sheila said witha bow at her waist. Her eyes were studying the middle sister closely, frowning.

"Have I done anything wrong? Or is there something on my face?" the bustier, taller version of Louise asked worriedly.

"No, I just have to commend your healers for striving to keep you alive in the face of your infirmities. In most places, you probably would have succumbed to it long ago," she admitted. The insideous cancer that was affecting her was currently in deep remission, but not cured. The damage to her lungs and heart were already fairly extreme, if healed up. But the cancer was lodged firmly in the bone marrow of her left femur. With a small burst of legend, she eradicated the cancer quite thoroughly.

"Can you do anything?" Louise asked in sudden hope.

Sheila smiled as she looked over at the girl. "I already have." A second wave of invisible legend regenerated the damage to her heart and lungs, making her as healthy as she would have been if she had never been ill.

That froze all of them as Louise suddenly shot over to hug her middle sister. "You'll be able to do everything now!" the teen said with tears in her eyes. "Oh, my dear sister Cattleya. I'm so very happy."

Cattleya had frozen at that. She was truly cured that easily? "The pain is gone?" she noted in stupification.

Eleanor moved to hug her sister, fighting to hide the tears in her own eyes.

Even Karin's stoic poise was imperfect. "Thank you, Sheila. You have given me one of the greatest gifts a mother could ever hope for."

"She is still a bit frail of health, but no more than a young woman that has not exercised a lot." Sheila smiled softly without even thinking. Her companion looked so happy at her sister's cure.

Louise flounced into her hard wooden seat with a clunk as she sheathed her dueling wand at her hip. "Thank you, Siesta."

"Of course, milady," the maid said with a soft smile. She quickly poured some vintage wine from the bottle, then set it back into the ice.

Karin sniffed at the maid, but then basically ignored her as her butler basically did the same for her and the other two daughters. "Your father should be arriving soon." It had been two days since they had arrived.

"Are you really set on joining the war effort?" Cattleya asked worriedly. "I can actually believe it now that I have seen you practicing. Even the soldiers do not work as hard as you and... Sheila is it? do." She had a cat on her lap that she was petting in a gentle manner.

"I do. Albion can not be forgiven for what they have done. They deposed our distant cousins, after all," Louise noted as she dabbed her face with a soft cloth.

"Poor Prince Wales. I hear he has been enchanted and fallen into deep sleep," Cattleya said in a sad tone.

"He's fallen into a coma from the shock of the multiple poisoning attempts. To raise one of his servants as an undead assassin... Emperor Cromwell has much to answer for." The leather in Sheila's gauntlet creaked as she cleanched her fist. If only the interaction of the magical poisons had not stymied her ability to cure him. She almost thought that fate was conspiring against her.

"Isn't that heresay?" Eleanor asked in a flippant manner.

"No, it isn't. I barely arrived quickly enough to save him and Louise," Sheila said in a barely constrained fury.

Eleanor opened her mouth, then closed it as she thought. "They tried to kill my little sister?" When she received a nod from Louise and her familiar, she frowned. "Mother, I am finding my support for the war effort is growing."

Karin's face had also gone quite tense. "That is to be expected. I, too, have to think about this in great detail."

Cattleya turned to her sister. "So do you think I should go to Tristain to search for suitors? I think father will be very pleased!"

"Of course, dear sister. Men will be breaking down doors to court you," Louise said instantly at the change of conversation. "What do you think, Eleanor? Who do you think would be a good match for our sister?"

"We are certainly getting ahead of ourselves. And I will have to interview them personally," she replied as she played with the bridge of her glasses in a nervous habit that she had thought she had broken.

"I'm sure the duke will join you in that endeavor," Karin said simply as she sat and basked in the presence of her daughters.

"Nooo," Cattleya whined as she hid a grin. "Now I will never be married." She gave her older sister a sly glance. "Perhaps just like my older sister, if she keeps losing her suitors."

"Cattleya! He was just too passive and weak," the eldest daughter decried.

Louise stifled a smirk. "Another engagement ended, Eleanor?"

"Alas, all three of us have little luck. I shall have to break that as quickly as possible," the middle daughter declared. Suddenly, she felt she had the whole world in front of her.

Karin smiled softly from where she was sitting, pleased with how life was treating the Valliere.

* * *

The duke's carriage was arriving across the drawbridge. He adjusted his monocle as he looked over the statues and the denuded courtyard. He was in a foul mood, but it appears some excitement had happened while he had been away that will have to be dealt with first. "Ramone, what happened to the courtyard?" he asked his familiar owl.

The owl fluffed its wings, then nodded. "Your youngest daughter cast a firestorm like your father used to."

"Little Louise did all this?" he asked in a pleased voice. "It appears sending her back to the Academy was a good thing then."

The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the main castle, the door flipping open with a swish of his cane. His wife and three daughters were waiting for him at the base of the stairs. Behind Louise stood a girl in a bit simpler of a dress, with long blonde hair like his eldest daughter but without the glasses and with an exceedingly pretty face in slender and childish body.

"Welcome home, husband. Would you wish to retire and rest before supper?" Karin asked him carefully.

"I am not that old. Let us be off to the dining room." He led the way to the dining room which was set for six. "I do apologize, but I'm afraid we have not been introduced." His gaze over Sheila was quite intense and discerning.

"This is my familiar, companion and the Chevalier Sheila de la Henderson," Louise informed her father formally.

"The girl that has upset the war college with her 'minnie balls'? Interesting. Though I had not realized you were Louise's familiar. We shall discuss this matter after supper though." And with that, he sat down for the seven course meal in perfect silence.

His wife and daughters followed his lead exactly, as if this were quite normal and Sheila slipped into their high society style of eating.

As the exquisite desert was being cleared, the duke finally leaned forward. "That dried up idiot is pushing for the war finally. What can Cardinal Mazarin be thinking?"

"I can not be so certain, my husband. From what I have gathered from Louise and her familiar, this is the queen's edict." Karin's dark red-brown eyes were hooded in deep thought.

"It is still foolish. To attack Albion with a bare parity of forces is suicidal, no matter what Marshall de la Gramont thinks of these new guns. And this is with Germania joining us in this battle," the duke declared as his huge mustache waggled.

"Father," Louise tried to interject carefully.

"Ah, the prodigal daughter that wishes to join the war effort. This is denied. I will give no support to this foolishness," he said flatly as he studied said daughter.

"Duke Valliere, I believe you may not be in posession of all the facts in this matter," Sheila said carefully in a very polite tone.

"Do you think you can attack an entrenched force and win in this situation?" he demanded as he waved his glass of wine in emphasis.

"Yes." Her blue-green eyes met his blue eyes unflinchingly. "After all, those are my guns that will turn the tide of this war. Even without myself and Louise, I give Tristain and Germania a better than fifty percent chance of winning this war. With just Louise, that probably increases another ten percent. With both of us, I put our chances at better than seventy-five percent."

"And there is the matter that Albion has tried to assassinate our daughter," Karin declared as she studied her pale wine in the simple goblet.

"What is this? Why have I not heard of this before?" the duke thundered loudly.

Cattleya whimpered slightly as Louise and Eleanor stiffened.

"We only learned of this from Louise's familiar today. And it was during an attempt on Prince Wales. Still, they nearly killed her if not for the quick response of her familiar Sheila." Karin's eyes were hard and glittering.

The duke leaned back as thought furiously. "This changes matters immensely." He turned to Sheila looking at her much more closely. "You are supposed to be some sort of warrior?"

"This will probably be delving into matters that might best be kept private and within your family," the demigoddes said simply as her eyes flicked over to a servant behind the duke.

"Father, I do believe we should take her advice in this matter. Perhaps we should retire to your sitting room," Eleanor said in a slightly worried tone.

The old man glanced over to his wife who nodded slightly, much to his surprise. "Very well."

The duke's sitting room was even more lavishly appointed than Karin's, with a soft purple rug and leather chairs. He sat in what was obviously 'his' chair next to the fireplace. "Explain this mystery! I will not stand for this in my own home."

"It deals with my parentage, which could cause a severe problem with the Church. Most people of this land would consider being the daughter of a pagan goddess to be something automatically evil without a single thought," Sheila said bluntly.

"That's quite a claim." The duke's blue eyes were looking at her closely.

"It is but the truth. Your daughter most likely saved my life by summoning me as her familiar with the power of her Void magic, proving her to be a figure of legend."

"Void? Louise?" he asked increduously.

"I have seen Louise cast all four elements and then a type of spell I have never seen, my husband. And with the attempt on her and Prince Wales' life, we have to consider that they are enemies of Valliere."

The duke brushed his mustache for a long moment. "You are right, we must put everything on the line to destroy our enemies. But my duties here-"

"-would not stop you from raising an army nor sending officers to lead them. And with Germania being allied to us for the nonce, it should be safe enough," Karin replied forcefully.

"And who would you have me command my forces? I do not know that I trust Colonel Beldonte or Captain Avinilia."

"I believe that I am not so old that I can not lead troops." Karin's eyes were quite dark and dangerous looking, almost red in the magelight. "It appears that the Captain of the Manticorian Knights, Karin the Heavy Wind is required. Defend Tristain's Western Reaches, my husband, and I shall bring you back a bounty from the lands of our enemies."

"And damnation to them," the duke declared. He turned back to Sheila. "That did not resolve the issue of you and your maternity. Such a thing could destroy the Valliere."

"I was summoned here by a holy ritual of your culture as what is _most _suitable for Louise as a familiar. We will have to trust that means something important and to fate."

"It is doubtful that we will be able to persuade many people of that fact, though it is quite sensible," Eleanor noted as she considered things aloud. "Sheila has not offered to give you power for a contract?"

"No. In fact, she has only helped me figure out how to use my own power. I can actually use the written prayers of the Founder from his prayerbook directly without translation, but our work has refined my spells to where they are only a cadence or two longer than a standard spell," Louise said sincerely. "She is very devoted to me, like any other familiar is to their mage."

"Then there is nothing to be done there. We do not reward loyalty with dishonor," the duke declared strongly. He stood up. "It appears I have a long evening to speak to my officers."

* * *

Sheila followed Louise and Cattleya as they walked along. The older girl actually occasionally would twirl and skip like she was only ten again. She opened her door and quickly scooped up a cat, nuzzling its face. "Oh, so wonderful."

"Should I stay outside, my mage?" Sheila asked formally.

"Cattleya?" she asked her older sister.

"She can come in. After all, she is your dear familiar. I shall have to talk to Eleanor about moving her closer to your room," the older strawberry-blonde as she moved through the many animals in her room.

Sheila stepped in carefully. At least it was clean with all of the animals. So the maids were doing their jobs well. "Thank you for inviting me into your home."

"You are my dear sister's familiar and it is obvious she cares for you greatly," Cattleya said with a turn of her head. "I have a thrush that I found. The poor thing's wing is injured."

"It is healing well and almost ready to fly," Sheila said casually as she inspected the bird within its cage. Just a bit of the muscles and ligaments to finish healing.

"That is very nice to hear. I wish I could speak to all of my pets like I can to Ramone." Cattleya nuzzled one of her father's hounds.

"The only owl of the bunch and it talks the language of men," Sheila said with a sigh. "Being able to talk to owls is not a heavily used ability of mine."

"That's right, you can speak to owls can't you?" Louise said from where she was sprawled on her sister's bed as she kicked off her shoes.

"But only owls?" Cattleya asked curiously.

"It is my mother's totemic animal, being noted as wise which is something she treasures." Sheila carefully pet one of the cats that swiped at her fingers. This was no surprise to the demigoddess, as she really was not much of an animal person like Diana.

They all changed for bed, even Sheila and Louise, talking lightly into the night. As they fell asleep chastily, the young demigoddess finally felt welcomed in Louise's home.

* * *

**Part II: Invasion**

The Tristain Dragon Carrier _Varsenda_ was leading the invasion fleet of Tristain and Germania to Albion only eight months after the attack upon Tarbes. Two hundred ships strong, the fleet looked very impressive, though only fifty of the ships were ships of battle. On the deck stood the captain of the ship, scanning the skies behind them as he looked for a figure that he had been told would be arriving.

So he was quite surprised when sailors started yelling and a heavy wooden thump was heard from behind him. Turning around, he blinked as he saw two girls and several large crates with luggage tied to the top sitting in the center of his deck.

"Captain?" Sheila said as she carefully released Louise as her booted feet touched down.

"Chevalier Louise de la Valliere and Sheila del la Henderson? I am Captain Beauforte," the officer called out. He was surprised to see Louise loosening some sort of lined leather jacket as she removed smoke-tinted glasses from her eyes. Though, now that he thought of it, both would be useful at higher elevations. "Welcome aboard."

"The crates need to be put someplace secure with guards and our luggage stowed in our quarters," Louise called out as she put her fighter-jacket with her luggage. "Is General de Potiers awaiting us?"

"Yes, we recieved your radio missive that you were leaving. I think they are just sitting down. Did you really leave the Academy only fifteen minutes ago?" The speed that the strange familiar of Louise beggered his imagination.

"That is right," Sheila replied.

"Lt. Rumeria will escort you," the captain declared as the officer trotted up.

They headed back past the dragons on deck and into the forecastle. The young officer led them to a fairly spacious (for a galleon, at least) stateroom with a table.

The men (and one woman) all turned to look at their entrance.

"So this is your daughter? I see where she gets her looks," the man with the most gold cord on his shoulders said. "Come in and sit down, both of you."

The two were both wearing a keen sort of armor that looked imposing but did not seem to be impacting their movements much, he noted.

"I am General de Poiters, in charge of the army of invasion. At my right in is General Handenburg of Germania, my second in command. Your mother, General Karin de la Valliere, is third in command," Poiters started with the introduction. He continued with several of his aides and finally with his Chief of Staff, Colonel Whimpffen. "Gentlemen, this is Chevalier Louise de la Valliere and her Gandalfr familier, Chevalier Sheila de la Henderson."

"These are our secret weapons?" the Germanian officer asked suspiciously, looking formidable in his steel helm with a spike atop of it.

"Sheila, as I understand it, comes from a distant land and has helped advance our guns while the youngest Valliere is reputed to be quite potent with her Void magic." There was more than a hint of skepticism in his voice though.

"Void magic will not magically make all of their troops disappear," Whipffen noted sarcastically.

"If I may?" Sheila asked. "I took the liberty to scout the battlefields last night in preparation." She set her hand down upon the table and the surface seemed to ripple and then turned into a bas relief map of Albion stretching from Londonium's Rosias landing-tree and all the way to Dartanes.

Markers showed where their fleet was readied to move to intercept them while the army of Albion on the ground, notated as having upwards of 30,000 men.

"Now this is magic I could like," General Handenburg. "Ja, this is very good. They have set their army to move quickly to Dartanes. They are being conservative."

Karin spoke for the first time. "Of course they are, they are the defending force. They merely need to bleed us dry." She truly felt that her daughter's strange familiar could actually back up her words.

Louise was studying the map carefully. This was something other than healing or a lightning bolt that Sheila was showing for once.

"What sort of magic is your Void capable of?"

"Explosion, though not greatly more the ships of the fleet can do themselves, especially the artillary and cannons. There are also darker uses, but I think we will take the high road and not animate any dead," Sheila said as she pretended to look over the map.

"Also dispel, which is incredibly potent. I have not found a spell that it can not counteract. It may drain me severely to cast it though," the young mage explained. "There is an illusion, but I have not been able to translate them to Void Runic yet. I think they have to do with Void, Fire and Water for some reason."

"Ah, based on a mirage then," Sheila said in sudden though. "We'll take a look at this tonight."

"What I would like is an illusion then, of our fleet actually heading to Rosais near Londonium," Poiters said after a long moment of thought. It appears one of the stories of the Founder would be very useful in this day and age.

"Shall we drag the illusion along a course to make it look more believable?" Sheila tapped a section of the map over the edge of the island. "If he make an illusion appear here, it will look like we tried a feint towards Dartanes and then switched to Rosais for a foolhardy quick victory. It will make them think we are being much more foolish than we are."

General de Poiters had to agree that it made a lot of sense. "If you can do that, do so. Are you truly sure the newer, long range cannons will be as effective as you say?"

Handenburg grunted at that. None of the Germanian ships had the new cannons, being rightly considered a secret weapon of Tristain. "To make them explode like fireballs seems impossible. But if you can really make them hit that hard, I can't complain. We should be able to take out several of their ships every five minutes."

Poiters and Karin de la Valliere nodded at that. Karin spoke up, as she had assigned the task of commanding the five 'battlecruisers.' "Yes, the new shells are quite powerful. We do not have a lot of them, but enough to gut their leadership and take down their core of ships of the line." She was going to be aboard the _Eagle_, per the queen's request as a symbolic gesture. They would be returning Albion to its rightful rulers.

"Then let us get to the gritty details of the battle tomorrow," Poiters declared as he pulled out some papers.

* * *

Sheila was standing on the prow of the _Varsenda_, looking towards the assembling fleet of Albion hovering over the shore. This had been her position all night. "Lt. Rumeria, if you would wake General de Poiters? It appears that the fleet of Albion is getting ready to do an early morning attack." The hint of sunrise was at her back as she stared into the darkness.

The sleepy young man blinked at that. "Say what?" He had his cup of tea in his hand with a piece of dried bread to gnaw on.

"Move it, soldier. We've got about half an hour before they range in on us under the cover of the dawn," she ordered even as she thumped onto the deck and started trotting across to the forecastle. Opening the door to Louise's room, she was pleased to discover her mage sleepily tightening her breastplate on. "Good, you are up. Albion's fleet is heading out. They are trying to slip in a quick attack.

Bells started ringing on the ship as men were called to battle. Adrenaline finished the waking process.

"What can you see of them now?" Louise asked as she trotted behind Sheila. One of the sailors was waving a flag in a specific patter to the other ships in their group.

"They are giving orders to break through our line and hit the main fleet of ships," she called out as she read their enemy's semaphores. "They are moving to bracket the Eagle. Good, that's as expected."

More bells were sounding now on all ships as the five ships of the long range bombardment cruisers. Karin de la Valliere stood on the bridge of the Eagle. A younger officer was looking through the fleet's single rangefinder.

"What is the range, Lt. Aramini?" she called out.

"Three thousand feet," he replied with alacrity.

"Wind is at our back at fifteen miles per hour," called out another officer.

"Prepare to fire our first barrage!" the blonde general called out as semaphore messages were sent to her other ships.

The cannons loaded on the prow of the ships angled upwards and then sighted horizontally.

"Fire!" she ordered, letting the Eagle's cannon transmit the message to the other four cruisers. The nine inch cannon bellowed fury and smoke as it launched the first explosive shell at the largest ship of the Albion fleet. Only a second later, four more cannons fired.

Only three shots hit with shattering force as the impact-triggered explosions shredded the front of three of Albion's finest galleons instead of just tearing through the heavy wood of the ship like normal cannonballs.

Shock absorbers uncoiled and slid the cannons back into position as the breach was unscrewed and the copper casing ejected, only to be rolled out of the way by a young soldier. Two more sailors slid another sharp-pointed shell into the breach and then started sealing the cannon.

In only thirty-five seconds, the five cannons roared again, sending fifty-pound, impact-triggered and explosive rounds into the enemy ships.

The Albion fleet was shocked as their core of heaviest ships took extreme damage at a range beyond any mages they had heard of. The first three that had taken three full double barrages turned and dropped their flags as they tried to fight the fires that threatened to consume their ships. One of them exploded as the fires reached the powder kegs too quickly to be fought off.

Another roar and three more new ships took the heavy shells.

Even as that was happening, the Tristain and Germanian fleet had been shifting their position into a double line, one above the other. The shelling was becoming vicious as the heavy bombardment ships kept shooting at who ever started to give out orders.

"All right, Louise, I think it is time to go," Sheila yelled out as the dragons of the carrier started to fling themselves into the air.

The mage nodded, her hair tightly held down by the pair of goggles as she zipped up the fur-lined leather coat. She had a satchel over her shoulder holding her books. Louise stepped into the one-handed grip of Sheila.

With a woosh, they rocketed straight up faster than any dragon could hope to keep pace and were soon headed north in a curve.

Seeing the rivers converging below at a fortress, Louise called out, "I'm going to start the illusion."

"Don't forget to make some of them look damaged," her familiar called out.

"Of course I was." Louise received a raised eyebrow at the lie. "Fine." She started chanting, using the full spell within the Founder's Prayer book. It was one of the many interesting spells within it.

The air swirled and then wavered for a moment as the damaged fleet of Tristain and Germania appeared behind them. They flew a course that just _happened_ to pass near the marching army of Albion as it was fording a river. Sheila did have to have a lightning bolt (and its thunder) strike the ground below the fleet, catching the attention of the scouts.

Rosais was another 'world tree' with many air-docks. The soldiers of Albion fled when they saw an unbroken fleet approaching, abandoning the position in the face of fifty thousand soldiers.

The effect was perfect, as the forces of Albion turned back instantly to try and catch the fleet as it anchored.

Far off at Dartanes, the true fleet of Tristain and Germania started to debark their full forces at the world tree and shaking out into formation. The ships of battle hung over head. Only six had been heavily damaged to over forty destroyed or heavily damaged Albion ships.

Guiche was almost too tired to worry about being in charge of his company. This was so going to get himself killed.

* * *

The two musketeers were very bored as they stood watch at the top of the Earth Tower of the Academy. It was two hours before dawn and very dark, with only a sliver of the red moon visible. The older woman reached for her rifle as she spotted movement. Swiftly raising the gun, she thumbed the hammer back. With a crack of thunder, she got exactly one shot off before she and her younger companion immolated.

Menvil the White frowned as he looked down upon the dying women at the top of the tower. The two rifles started to cook off their bullets even as their bandoliers started to pop like fire-crackers.

"It appears our entry is not going to be as quiet as I'd hoped," the scarred fire mage said as the Albion frigate started dropping lines. "Move quickly to capture the women."

In the main tower, Agnes de la Milan was startled out of her sleep by the sounds of bullets going off. "What?"

"Commander, it appears we are under attack," her second in command.

"Gear up," the short-haired musketeer ordered. She quickly fitted her breastplate on and threw over her cape and bandilier, even as she she buckled her six-shooter onto her hips. Lastly she gathered her trusty lever-action rifle and quickly fitted a bayonet under the barrel.

They closed the door behind them, leaving the Mirror of Lies set up even as she ran.

A fireball boomed as the door to the young women's dorm tower exploded down below.

"Squad two, start sniping! Try to tie them down," Agnes ordered as she continued to run across the battlement towards the center tower.

"Yes sir!" came the chorus from the young women. They set themselves on the wall, took a deep breath and aimed. They squeezed the trigger at the figures moving towards the burning rubble of the doorway. The distance was long, the light poor and targets moving.

Their six guns roared as one and four mercenaries were struck and starting yelling in a panic.

Menvil the White frowned into the dark. "Celestin, go kill those women in that tower."

"Yes, sir!" the mercenary said, hiding his shock at an old companion that was gurgling on the ground next to him from a sucking chest wound.

He took off running, bullets whizzing over his head. That gave him and his men quite the incentive to run faster, getting into cover as he broke down the door to enter the tower with a massive block of ice as a battering ram.

The four mercenaries worked their way up the tower efficiently, but leaving no doors unopened. They had no desire to end up trapped between two forces. On the fourth floor, they slammed open a pair of doors. Celestin saw only an empty room, but his companion saw a handsome mage in front of him and instinctively fired off his held spell. The blaze of fire impacted and then reflected off the Mirror of Lies, engulfing him before he could even scream.

Celestin was not very happy as he exstinguished the corpse of another companion with a blast of ice. Whoever these people were, they were tricky and not above laying traps.

Inside the school, the rest of the mercenaries were herding three years worth of young women and their teachers into the great hall. Menvil seemed at ease, but he had to admit that this plan was only barely holding together.

"Old Osmond, is this all the students and teachers?" he demanded of the old man.

"Yes, yes indeed." In fact, Osmond could not really see that well and was playing the part of the doddering old man to the hilt.

High up in the main tower, Agnes checked over the radio as she pushed aside the guard. "The rest of you set up defenses on the stairs." She grabbed the microphone and held down the button. "This is the Captain Agnes de la Milan at Academy to Tristain Capital! We are under attack by unknown enemies. I repeat, this is Agnes at the Academy. We need immediate relief."

"We have received your message, Captain Agnes. Repeat, we have received your information that the Academy is under attack," the radio squawked back in reply.

Agnes nodded, turning back to the regular guard. "Keep them posted and listen for any orders." She was just exiting the radio room when she heard a commotion.

"What is going on?" she demanded.

"Captain, what is the commotion?" a burly looking guard demanded. He carried a dueling wand.

"Invaders! They have already taken the main hall and the girl's dorms," Agnes said as looked him over. "You are the night guard for Prince Wales. Augustine, right? That's right, his room is right above the radio room."

"Which means we have to defend this tower to the last," Augustine nodded in answer.

Gunshots cracked along the wall as squad two retreated to the central tower. The mercenary Celestin swore vehemenantly as two bullets spanged off the stone next to his head. Pain blossomed from the rock fragments, but he sent a fog of icy cold towards the women. They had to fire blindly where the mercenaries had been and to hope for the best.

Celestin, though, had ducked low with his men and started to sidle forward. That was when he heard chanting in the air above him.

On the back of her Sylphid, Tabitha unleashed her newest, most powerful spell. Kirche was looking over her shoulder.

"That's a new spell, right? I think I heard a couple of your void runes," the red-headed Germanian asked in wonder.

The entire wall and outer tower was coated in a blizzard of incredibly cold ice.

Tabitha smiled slightly, as the spell was easily Square in power now.

"Don't shoot them," the leader of squad two called out. She was busy putting more bullets in the clip for her rifle. "You are students, right?"

"That's right," Kirche called back. "Everyone else has been taken into the great hall."

"I don't think they actually have that many troops, but we have to release the students. Come with me." She would take them to Agnes.

* * *

Colbert glided through the night as old skills from a time he would rather not remember coming to the fore. His wand suddenly tracked to the left down a dark corridor. "Gregoria, that's a good way to get killed in this sort of situation."

"And here I thought I would get to see the Flame Serpent in action. Besides, you should know the man in charge of this. He's one of yours that you failed to kill," the deacon said, his wand out and ready.

The bald mage frowned, then looked surprised for a moment, then turned very angry. "Menvil? Here? I never did find out why he attacked me."

"I heard he has been a mercenary since he quit your Experimental Magical Research Group..." Gregoria drawled out.

"Nothing but a sham name to disguise that we were doing the work of the Inquisition on the sly," the bald professor declaimed hotly. "To be ordered under that falsehood and then burn an entire village of Protestants... vile! Vile evil, I tell you!"

"So that is why became a teacher? To hide from your sordid past? Pathetic," the man of the cloth stated coldly.

Up ahead of them was the entrance to the Alviss Hall where the mercenaries had holed up. Royal guardswomen had taken up position.

Agnes called out, "Surrender and we will grant you mercy. You are surrounded and outnumbered." A bluff, pure and simple.

Inside the dim hall, lit only by a few candles and moonlight, Menvil the White just smiled, the scars on his face twisting horribly. "Surrender? You will listen to our demands! Or we will start killing an entire generation of elite nobles here. Bring us assurances from your queen that you will retreat from Albion and we shall release them unhurt. Refuse us, and we shall kill one hostage an hour. That time starts right now."

His smile would haunt most of the girl's and servant's nightmares for years.

Outside the hall, Agnes frowned. "Reinforcements are still an hour away. So we may have to use you against these mages."

"I am a Chevalier, like my friend and no stranger to combat," Kirche boasted in a slightly too loud voice.

"That's good to hear," a voice said from behind them as two pair of feet set down with a thump.

"Louise? I thought you left to go to the war front?" the red-headed mage asked her some-time rival.

"We picked up the message in Albion and responded," Sheila answered for her mage.

Louise yawned as she opened her jacket over her armor. "What is going on?"

"Mercenaries that have been hired to take hostages. They have almost all the students and all of the teachers and staff," Agnes explained as she settled her rifle across her back. She pulled out her six-shooter, making sure it was loaded and the hammer pulled back.

"Louise, can you ready a dispel? With that and our pistols, we should be able to take them out if we can create a distraction," Sheila said as she thought back to how the dining hall was set up. She had her pistol out.

"We can handle the distraction," Kirche promised. "I'll make a flash-bang bag and you can use your wind to float it in, right Tabitha?"

"Yes," the small teen said.

Agnes checked over all her soldiers. They readied their swords in their off-hands and had their readied six-shooters as Kirche created her flash bomb. The door was opened and a gust of powerful wind carried the bag into the room.

It exploded with blinding brilliance as Sheila and Agnes stepped into the room. Their pistols roared again and again as the mercenaries were caught flat-footed. Louise, Kirche, Tabitha and Wales' mage-guard stepped in behind them.

Mevlin the White had not been blinded by the light though, as his eyesight had been robbed decades ago during his attack upon Colbert, so responded with precision and speed. The sharp explosions of fire made the pistoleers an easy target. Ravening white fire lashed out to encompass the first two women, only to be snuffed out.

"Dispel!" Louise called out.

The last mercenary swore, as he had never heard of a magic that could so utterly destroy his beautiful fire. He ducked under two bullets from Agnes' pistol as it emptied.

Three more bullets smashed into him, flinging him across the table in a spray of blood.

"I think that was all of them. Is anyone hurt?" Sheila asked as the rest of the musketeers moved in.

Several of the girls were crying and quite in shock. Montmorency surprised everyone by latching onto Louise who happened to be close.

"He was threatening to burn everyone as if were nothing but meat. Like he enjoyed roasting people with his magic," the water mage said as she sobbed.

Louise started to awkwardly pat the girl on her back. "There, there. We have dealt with him."

"Ah, Professor Colbert," Old Osmond said as he hobbled over. "Good to see that you and Deacon Gregoria are fine. Good!"

Gregoria was poking at Menvil's body with his toe, his blonde tonsure shining in the darkness under his skull cap. "It was Menvil, like I thought. It appears you are very nearly the last of your Experimental Magical Research Group, Colbert."

Agnes turned away from where she was supervising her musketeers. She had just finished loading her six-shooter. "You were part of that group?" A blaze of white-hot hatred erupted in her heart. Even as his head drooped in shame, it ignored his feelings.

"To my everlasting shame, I was the fool tricked into leading that cursed group," the bald mage said with anguish carved into his face. "They said that the plague had come to D'Angleterre-"

"You murdered my family and burned the village to the ground." Agnes' pistol was raised up. "It was nothing more than an order to burn Protestant heretics." There was so much emotion within her heart that her hand should tremble, but it only wavered just a bit.

The tension from before had suddenly returned, as an unexpected confrontation had appeared.

"Give me one good reason why I should not gun you down like the dog you are," Agnes ordered him.

They were standing only fifteen feet apart.

"Even if I saved that one girl... I can not give one good reason," Colbert admitted sadly. "Even here, my hands are still blood-stained with their innocence-"

That was when Kirche stepped between them with the a rush from her dueling stance. "Stop! Can't you see, he is not that man who burned D'Angleterre anymore."

"Step out of the way, child," the captain of the Order of the White Lily demanded.

"Agnes, don't do this," Louise said softly. "Can you not see his remorse? He is always going on about finding something on than burning for his fire to do. He wished it to be tamed and to help people."

Tears of anguish were streaming down her face. "Why did you save me?" Agnes demanded. "Why was I the only one to survive that night?" The pistol in her hand was shaking a bit now.

"Because I was too weak to continue once that water mage had saved you from the burning building. I broke my orders to drag you away from that hell. It was at that point that I had realized something was wrong." Colbert stepped past Kirche. "If you must strike me down, do it quickly."

"Professor!" Kirche asked.

Sheila was concentrating on the scene quite heavily. While no one here could see it, she imbued Colbert and Kirche's body with extra health. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gregoria suddenly aim his wand at his side.

In a blur, she interposed herself between Gregoria and Agnes, taking the full brunt of the fireball and lit up all afire. Distantly, she heard a gunshot.

"Sheila!" Louise shouted, immediately starting to cast her void spell that would create water.

"Tsk," Gregoria said, not feeling any remorse at burning the girl in front of him. He was already chanting another spell when everything turned cold and dark.

Ice formed in a pillar as the heat of the room dropped to life-threatening temperatures as Tabitha's staff channeled wind, water and un-fire, magnifying her cold spell tremendously. Her green eye were hard as she extinguished Gregoria's life in an instant.

"Colbert," Kirche wailed as she caught the shot teacher. What a time to notice the ruby ring that her teacher had given her.

Blood was seeping from his chest slowly. "Perhaps- this is- for the best."

The clatter of Agnes' six-shooting hitting the floor. "I did not mean that. I just saw an attack and reacted."

A very bedraggled and hairless Sheila knelt next to Colbert. "You'll live, even without healing. The bullet lodged in your ribs," she said. "Maybe you two can both find some redemption."

* * *

In Albion at the world tree Dartanes, the armies of Tristain and Germania were waking up and starting to set out to the south. Far lay Londonium and the Usurper Cromwell.

"Captain, we should sing a song," on of the men of Vineuil Independent Battalion called out.

"Then let's sing a song of victory," the foppish noble replied, licking his lips nervously. "Unto the Gates of Saint Tyronil."

The rough men laughed at that, as they started to sing about the road of battle that ended at the gate to the Underworld, guarded by the saint that had defeated and then captured a horrible dragon.

While it was a song of victory, it boded that all battles were costly in men and lives.


	7. Battlefront

Louise sighed as she started to pull off her armor. "Help me please. I'm so tired." Her tent had been set up near her 'bodyguards' that were one of three dragon squadrons that rotated through on their duties.

"Certainly," her familiar replied as she started to loosen the straps holding the well-fitted armor. They were both out of their armor and padding fairly quickly. Sheila rubbed her too short hair. It was too short to even magically change, so she looked very odd with only a fuzz on top and missing eyebrows on her healed features.

It was late in the evening and the days of warm summer were far past and it was late fall. Sheila had wondered at Henrietta's actions to start a campaign so late in the year. Though giving any more time and the Reconquistia would become entrenched as the defacto rulers.

Louise grimaced at her books on a small table. She really should take some time to work on her void magic. But some of the spells she was discovering were quite worrisome, as the Founder's Prayerbook seemed to hide many dark secrets.

She smiled as she saw the small stack of letters from home. Her sisters were both writing and Cattleya was happily extolling her entrance into the world of wooing men.

"You still want to work out the spells on your own? You know I am here for you," Sheila replied with a warm smile as she stripped to her t-shirt and some shorts she had made.

Louise was now in a light sleeping gown. "I don't know what I'm seeing. And what do you think of the General's orders?"

"We can't just wait for them to seige us as we don't have the supplies to last that long anyways. They have to take an offensive action. The lands around Saxe-Gotha are likely to be the battleground." Sheila was thinking hard over the terrain. There were a few beaver damns upstream of that area.

"So you managed to convince General de Poitiers to march?" the mage asked.

"At dawn, finally. Though while they march to Saxe-Gotha, we can be busy with our dragon squadrons," the scion explained. "Your queen's coffers are very low because of her kindness to her own people. So we shall have to replenish them in other ways."

"But that is for the morning," Louise said as she stretched on the edge of her crude bed.

"Are you ready for our next step? It has been a couple of months since we have started our companion bond." Sheila held out the steralized medical device that would give Louise a transfusion of her ichor.

Louise stared at that for a long time. "Yes, I think so."

Sheila kissed her arm, then inserted the needles. Willing the godly essence to flow through them, she saw Louise shudder as the stronger ichor was processed into her body. "This will feel strange tonight, my mage. Our emotions are going to be more open. You can just think of it and you will feel it." She set it into a bot of boiling water to clean and steralize again.

The young girl nodded slowly and tried to feel around the edge of her new ability. Suddenly, she felt it as a tsunami of caring and desire flooded through their new link. "Is this what you always feel?" she asked in a choked voice.

The young demigoddess smiled and then hugged Louise. "Somehow, it has grown to this level. Remember my oath. I wll always be here."

"I don't know that I can ever love you like that," the young girl said as she shivered under the pressure, closing off the link. The cool fire was running through her body as everything seemed to awaken slightly.

"Learn to love me in your own way. You are yourself and your emotions will be different than mine." Sheila rolled Louise over to start massaging the back-aches of wearing armor all day from her.

Louise turned onto her back and reached up to put her hand on her familiar's startled cheek. She sat up and then pecked a very small kiss upon her lips. "I can do this much, at least. Come to bed, dear familiar. We can hold ourselves against the chill night."

* * *

The dragon-knights of the 3rd Squadron alighted in the rose tinted hue of the bitterly cold Autumn dawn near the large tent of Louise de la Valliere, an important person that they had been ordered to guard. Most of the knight thought it was worthless, but Julio Roma, their captain, took the job seriously. With the army almost completely debarked it had became a war of land and their forces would just assist.

The tent flap was flipped open and a slim figure in armor that looked to heavy for the young girl stepped out. Across her back was a sword and a rifle. "Louise, they are here."

A second, slightly lighter armored figure stepped out. "I was just grabbing my book of shadows and the prayerbook." What an odd term for her own spellbook. Though Sheila had teased her about it just being the notes to make her own prayerbook.

"Captain Julio Roma, Chevalier Louise. 3rd Squadron is ready to perform our duties," the Romalian called out.

The two of them wore identical expressions of surprise. "You are not from Tristain or Germania," Louise blurted out.

"Ah, that is correct. I am from Romalia, a humble servant of the Pope. Once a priest, but now a dragonrider," he replied with a smile.

Louise knew she felt an attraction to the fellow, but the blast of jealousy from Sheila reminded her of their changing relationship and let herself feel regret which dampened that jealousy quickly. "A priest that is now a mage in the army of Tristain?" she asked cordially.

"In fact, I am not a mage."

That caused the nearly bald girl to blink. "You are not a mage and are a dragon knight?"

"Our captain is the best dragon-rider in spite of that. What he can do is amazing," the 3rd squadron's second in command boasted.

The Void mage nodded, getting her feelings under control. "Be that as it may, we have some duties for you and the 1st Squadron. We are headed to Salburham."

"And what will we be doing there?" Julio asked politely.

"We are raiding in force. Taking the wealth from our enemies is a priority at this point." Sheila had heard the generals complaining about the lack of funds and noted that many expensive and valuable items from the palace in Tristaint were missing. "I have already talked to Captain Maitiers of the _Dutiful_ and he should be approaching the city in a few hours."

Julio let Louise ride behind him while Sheila was on the back of his second in command's dragon. The two wings of dragons headed west.

"There's the _Dutiful_," Sheila called out, pointing in the distance.

Louise tried to strain her eyes and could suddenly see the military ship in the distance as if it were only a thousand feet away, not the ten miles it actually was. "And there is Salburham below."

Julio nodded. "What are we raiding?"

"The counts mansion and the main bank," she replied. "Do you see that bell tower? It is the building to the west of that with the gargoyles."

"Dragons!" was called out, as Albion's famed dragons rose to thwart the attack.

An equal number of dragon rose quickly in the pale light. That was when the first crack of Sheila's rifle sounded. In a spray of blood, the first dragon fell to a shot to its head. A second and third crack fell two more, causing a consternation in their forces. By the time the were close enough, Sheila had cut their numbers in half.

"Explosion!" Louise shouted, sending a large Void explosion into the center of a formation, instantly killing six dragon-nights.

That was the end of their counter-attack, as the rest quickly fled.

The two squadrons of dragon knights landed right in front of the imposing stone building that was the bank of Salburham. Sheila kicked in the door in much to the surprise of the tellers and the noble that ran this bank.

"We are with the army of Tristain. Resist us and you will die." Sheila had her pistol out instead of her rifle. She shot one of the guard who tried to go for his sword and shattered the wand of the mage. "There's the vault."

"It is impervious and only I can open it," the mage boasted.

"Tie him up and take him." Sheila was studying the metal vault closely. She could probably-

"Dispel," Louise called out as she finished her void-runic casting, causing the vault door to pop open.

"Or we can do that. We'll still take him hostage." Sheila pulled out a burlap bag from her belt and started filling the bag with golden ecu's."

"My money!" the noble banker shouted as two knights roped him up.

"On to Fuendel Manse," Louise ordered even as Sheila went out the door first.

Several of the town's guard were forming up down the road. A single pistol shot cracked out, taking out the captain and sending the rest scattering.

Sheila just took off running and leaping. The eighteen dragon knights descended upon a noble's mansion. She dealt with the front door like she had the bank's.

A maid screamed as soldiers suddenly streamed into the house. The old noble came out of his private rooms, a golem leading the way. Derflinger was set to cleave both arm of the stone creation. A dragon knight sent out magical arrows, impaling the noble.

"Lord, I am afraid we are going to have to ask you to surrender your wealth lest more violence be visited upon you. This distasteful duty is laid upon us to pay for your cowardly attack upon my country," Louise called out, pointing her dueling wand at the wounded noble. "If you do so, I will see to your medical aid myself."

"Father!" a young girl, probably only thirteen, called out. One of the dragon-knights grabbed her.

"Fine," the old man shouted. He sent for his head servant. "Gather all my valuables in my private room."

The servant returned quickly with a small bag.

Louise just raised an eyebrow. "So are you stalling for time or do you really think we would believe that is all of you valuables?"

"That is all of my valuables!"

A flicker of movement in his eyes let even Louise catch his lie. Sheila, on the other hand, walked over to a book shelf and pressed a cunningly hidden switch and then just pulled hard, pulling open the doorway.

"How- how did you know?" the flabbergasted noble asked.

"That you probably had embezzled quite a bit as chancellor of treasury? It had to do with how quickly the royal family lost power. If they had access to the royal treasury, they could have easily hired enough mercenaries to squash the rebellion within the first month." Sheila shook her head. "This much will probably cover the invasion's expenses nicely for the next few weeks."

"How dare you-"

"That is a lot of money," Louise said in grand understatement. As a Valliere she had access to large sums of money. Had seen her parents pay for buildings out of the family petty cash fund. This actually looked to be about the same as what would have been within the castle's vault.

The treasurer must have been counting on people not expecting him to hide the funds in this manor.

The hidden compartment in the floor of the hidden room held twice as much and caused the old man to start sobbing.

They had to start piling the golden ecu into bags to load onto the dragons. Sheila sent one of them to moor the _Dutiful_ closer. It actually took half an hour to load all the money into the galleon and then depart.

* * *

Emperor Oliver Cromwell the First entered into the main council hall where the leaders of the Reconquistia gathered. He looked over at the twelve men, each fired up with zeal to the grand purpose of ridding the Holy Land of the abominations and their blasphemous god.

"Did we learn how the frigate _Ascendant Wind_ came to be captured? Or what happened to the mercenaries we sent to take over the Academy of Tristain?" the ex-Bishop asked.

"Yes, a minstrel from the first ship in from Tristain was quite forthcoming. It appears an army descended upon Menvil the White and his band and utterly destroyed them. Queen Henrietta's new 'pistoleers' appear to be nearly as dangerous as mages with their rapid fire weapons," an old bearded knight explained.

"Have we been able to find out any information about these new weapons?" their emperor demanded of him.

"Only that they are fiendish in complexity. Our gun-smiths say that if they had a sample, they could duplicate it." This noble looked as elite and foppish as any dandy from Tristain, loaded down with gold chains and rings. "This was proven false when we managed to steal one. Our smiths were astounded to discover it is some sort of breach-loaded weapon, but without its bullet pouch and powder, we can't say how it loads or even fires."

"The one thing the minstrel was quite admantant about in his story is that the queen's forces arrived at the Academy within an hour of the attack. Somehow they have managed to give their messages upon the wind. He said there are rumors that Louise the Zero was there with her familiar." The old knight looked unhappy at that thought.

"That has to be impossible! She must have been behind that illusion that distracted our armies from Dartanes at the time," a younger, hot-blooded knight shouted. "If she can do that-"

"Peace, Gabriel. It is possible she has learned a great deal of Void magic somehow." Cromwell was very unhappy at that thought, his fake Void magic was all that was holding his kingdom together. He had the Ring of Andvari, but what was its ability to control a handful of people compared to illusions like what had appeared over Rosais? Or worse, if she truly was of the holy element of Void. Then _he_ was contemplating heresy himself. In a dark place of his soul, he worried that he would be found lacking.

"Our campaign of probing has commenced, but I have to say this force from Tristain and Germania is probably the most dire I have seen or heard of. In our first skirmish we lost two hundred men to them. They responded and planned for our attacks almost perfectly. Even worse, they have started to raid our most wealthy noble's lands." The older, strong man named Hawkins, who was the general of the the Albion army, seemed to wilt a bit. "I believe there is a force behind the three generals we have heard of. Karin the Heavy Wind has taken command, but she was never talked of being a tactical genius. And General de Poiters is not that intuitive. General Handenburg is a blunt fellow as I found fifteen years ago and will just charge head on until he hits something that he can't plow through."

"So we must fall upon the defensive?" one noble asked.

"They will probably move to attack and take Saxe-Gotha. Defending it will be costly but should delay them until the first snows. At that point, we will win until spring," Hawkins declared as he laid out the map showing the major city. "They can not have much supplies and we can starve them out."

"We will not defend Saxe-Gotha. I have started to move enough expendable forces to make them think we are, but our true forces will fall back to Londonium," Cromwell said in practiced ease.

"What sort of madness is this?" the grand marshal demanded.

"Do you not trust in my void magic?" Cromwell asked in a dangerously cold voice. "I wield the the holy element of Void that can raise the dead."

"Of course I don't, your majesty," General Hawkins replied as he licked his lips in worry. Madness! Madness!

"Then I bid you a good day. I have to address the people and strengthen their will!" Cromwell's smile was a bit insincere.

After the meeting, Cromwell waited as the rest of the leaders departed. He stood up, his ever quiet secretary following him to the third floor balcony of the palace of Havilland. Below him stood throngs of people, gathered here by the rumor of Void magic that was going to be performed.

"Chosen people of Halkgenia!" Cromwell called out, his hands thrust high above his head. "We are beset by those that wish to steal our progress to a united kingdom against the evil elves! They seek to throw back our righteous cause!" He lowered his hands and placed them on the balcony in front of him. "And I say unto thee, the chosen of the Reconquistia, that this shall not be allowed to stand! This is only a setback! Not defeat!"

The crowds roared in anger. Thousands of people had filled the area in front of him.

"We gather our strength in order to crush them from our holy Fatherland! We shall shackle them in despair and defeat and drive them before us into the night! The revolution lives! It lives eternally!"

"Reconquistia! Long live the Reconquistia!" some of the crowd shouted. Other shouted, "Long live Emperor Cromwell! The Eternal Emperor!"

The Ring of Andvari thrummed with ancient magic as six dragon-mages, slain in battle and laid out on the ground before him in honors suddenly jerked and twitched. Each of them stood up and looked up at him. In one motion, they pulled out their dueling wands and saluted.

"Order us, oh Emperor of Halkgenia!" the called out in a toneless yell.

"Slay our enemies! Strike down the unjust and heathen! Cleanse the Holy Land of the blasphemous!" Oliver Cromwell, Usurper and Emperor of Albion called out as the crowd started to chant his name.

He basked in the adulation, feeling a strength that he had never known. A strength that had only existed within the nobility that had the power of magic!

Retiring to his private quarters hour later, he returned to his true countenance of sniveling cowardice. He turned to his 'secretary'. "Is this really the best plan?" he asked in a pleading tone.

Sheffield's eyes narrowed in anger under her dark cowl. "Of course it is. The mob laps up your words."

"Our army is not as strong as theirs. How can we overcome it? Have your master send us his men and ships!" he cried piteously.

"Do not try to dictate to me, Oliver. You were nothing and I made you king of Albion, just like you wished." She held out her hand. "Give me the Ring of Andvari. I will require it for my plans."

"But what if I need to control someone while you are putting your plans into action?" Cromwell clutched at the ring on his right hand.

Sheffield sneered at him. "If you keep it, you lose your kingdom and your head, fool. Without it, you can claim that you have used up your willpower." For at least a little while.

With a trembling hand he pulled off the ring and handed it to her.

The mysterious Sheffield turned and left without a backward glance. As she stepped out of the imperial private chambers, she looked into a deep shadow at the end of the corridor. "Come, Matilda. We have plans that need to be set in action."

The Earth mage nodded as she followed the 'secretary'. What sort of power did she have that could cow an emperor?

* * *

The armies of Tristain and Germania flooded around the hillside fortress city of Saxe-Gotha, coming at them from the west side after crossing the river. The ships of the fleet roared their cannons in anger, breaching not only the gates but the walls in two places.

Captain Guiche de Gramont led (and was led) by his irregulars of the De Vineuil Independent Battalion. He even accidentally earned them honor by being the first into the breach.

The orcs, trolls and giants that were guarding the streets found out that humans with weapons were quite dangerous in close quarters. The orces, being only three times the mass of humans faired best, but discovered that the new 'pistoleers' were incredibly dangerous. One knight managed to actually kill five all by himself as he rounded a corner.

On the far side of Saxe-Gotha from the main attack, the gates were still open as commoners tried to flood into the city for its meager defense.

"You there! State your reason to come to Saxe-Gotha!" a guard in charge of the group of trolls at the gate shouted at the next group.

"Ooh. Sorry, but we were afraid for our lives and our virtues!" Louise cried out worriedly. She was wearing a cloak over her 'commoner' outfit. She was clutching a short wand under its cover.

"You are uncommonly pretty, so I can see that. But you could be spies too! Who is our great leader?" he demanded.

"You mean the Emperor of Albion, Cromwell the Eternal?" the Void mage asked with fake fear in her voice. "Or perhaps the mighty General Hawkins?"

The soldier laughed at that. "Very good! You can pass in to the protection of Saxe-Gotha."

"Actually, we've done our job. Pistoleers, fire!" Sheila ordered out. Like a mirage in the summer, the dead grass outside the gates suddenly filled with the soldiers of Tristain and Germania. Across the city, half of the army disappeared in a shimmer, like they had never been there.

The six knights of the Pale White Lily each pulled two pistols and calmly started shooting the orcs and their guard handler.

Louise had her wand up and finishing her chant finishing as the guards within the tower realized they were under attack. The portcullis was instantly frozen open.

In just hours, the entire city was overrun by the army of Tristain. The new six-shooter pistols and lever action rifles made exterminating the monsters into just half the chore it would have been. And it would have been easy enough even before hand.

"Come on Louise, I think its time to talk to the general staff." They were standing on the main Avenue of Earth in front of the mayor's mansion. It had been carefully emptied, to no one's surprise.

Louise chanted a spell and then shot off into the air. No mere levitation was this, she had figured out how to finally how to fly quite quickly indeed. Sheila was but a moment behind her and they quickly landed outside the city in the center of the main camp of the army.

"-and we will soon have full control of all the main roads and the administrative abilities," the chief of staff Wimpffen was explaining on a rolled out map of the city. Its five major roads all converged on the mayor's mansion.

"When will be able to move our command into proper facilities?" General de Poitiers asked.

Sheila coughed at the doorway.

"Ah, report!" the general called out.

Karin looked up from her side of the table, her green eyes hard and cold in her persona as 'The Heavy Wind'.

"The Mayor's residence appears to have been evacuated for several days," Louise called out quickly as the more senior noble. "I heard a report from the forward scouts that the graineries are all empty."

"It is as I feared. This is a poisoned fruit being held out to tempt us," the shorter-haired girl next to her said.

"Explain," Karin demanded even as the Germanian general next to her frowned.

"I have counted only three hundred human soldiers of the Reconquistia. The monsters were hired for a pittance with the bribe that they would be allowed to 'feast' upon their enemies shortly." Foul orcs, this world would be better without them, in the demigoddess' mind. The trolls and giants were even worse, though had their own gods it appeared. "We were given this city so that it could leach our strength. There are no supplies here and I'm worried about poison or traps."

"We can defend ourselves five times better in a walled city," Poitiers noted.

"It took our cannons and mages an hour to breach these walls. Their worth is shattered for at least a month of _hard_ work to repair." Seeing that the general was not convinced, she frowned.

"I think we should examine this matter closely," Karin intervened with the cold comment. "While Chevalier Sheila is young, she has an exceptional mind for tactics. We should not discount her thoughts on the strategy of letting us capture such a key city." The older woman reached next to the table and pulled out a map of Albion and lay it atop of the map of Saxe-Gotha. "Have we gotten any numbers from Londonium?"

The iron-pot helmed Germanian general nodded. "Only forty-thousand in the city itself. They will need a miracle to withstand our siege."

"General Hawkins conquered Albion for the Reconquistia in only four months. I would not be surprised to discover that all grains and potatoes have been gathered in the capital for a long siege. Even our forces should have had a problem with taking such a strong army in an entrenched situation. If that army had been here in Saxe-Gotha and properly fitted out, we would still be fighting at the walls and our men would be being bled out." Sheila tapped the map here. "This should have been the first, best place to defend themselves. Yet they gave it to us to fall back into a place of desperation. And they should not be so desperate yet."

Karin frowned as she really listened to the girl. "General Handenburg, do you concur?"

"General de la Valliere!" the older general complained. "You put me on the spot."

"No, I am asking you your opinion. I do not want you to say what you think will get you the best position, but what you truly see of the tactical situation," she said coldly, causing him to flinch in anger.

Finally he swallowed his anger. "Chevalier Sheila is probably correct. There is no sane reason that we should have taken this city so easily. If her numbers of human troops is accurate, this is some sort of diversion." Handenburg then considered it for a moment. "Or potentially a trap."

Colonel Wimpffen nodded. "I can't see how they can trap us here, but it is possible. It depends what kind of fortifications their Earth Mages can build around us. Or how many of the undead their Emperor can control and send against us." He suddenly had a horrible image of the graveyard outside of Saxe-Gotha suddenly releasing all of its dead to attack them.

"While the defenses are ours now, they were originally of Albion design. There could be a secret tunnel large enough to march an army inside the city. Or they could have access to our water supply. Or each of the town's people could be primed to turn into a mob to attack us with some sort of spell, even against their will," Sheila said, ticking off a list in her head.

"We must secure Saxe-Gotha." Poitiers frowned as he considered matters. "I shall stay here with five thousand of our troops. General de la Valliere, you will be given field command of the remaining 45,000 troops as the representative of the queen." He chuckled for a moment. "Besides, you have done wonders to whip a great deal of them into shape with your will of steel."

Louise repressed a shudder, but could feel a feather-light touch of worry that helped steady her. "General Poitiers, perhaps we should continue to scout the area. It is possible they left a few traps and surprises behind."

* * *

"It's a very small village," Louise noted as the squadron of dragons landed. "Less than a dozen houses."

Sheila hopped down off Rene's dragon. "Yet I don't see any adults here. Just children."

The dragon knights of the 1st Squadron frowned as they realized it was true. Through the woods there were only children and young teens. Suddenly tracking down the small smoke contrails in these woods no longer seemed totally silly, if not the enemy scout camp they thought it had been.

Sheila suddenly tensed. "Well, there is one older person. Louise, I think you should ready your wand-"

That was when a wave of invisible magic swept over them. New memories of visiting the boring town and leaving to head to their next destination appeared within their minds. All of the dragon knights started mounting their dragons in preparation to leave.

Louise dropped her dueling wand as she held her head. "What is going on?" she demanded hoarsely.

The blonde-haired girl hiding off in the woods was shocked. Two of the people were resisting her memory spell?

"Louise, cast dispel upon yourself," her familiar called out. The compulsion was strong, but she was resisting the spell with her inhuman stubbornness and its ability to affect her memory seemed limited by her supernaturally perfect memory.

Ten runes were chanted and Louise cast the spell upon her. With a wave the compulsion was removed. Immediately the dragon knights that were preparing to take off suddenly remembered their duties.

"What was that?" the captain of the 1st Dragon Squadron exclaimed.

"Some sort of magic!" another knight called out.

"What magic was that?" a third yelled out.

"Louise... That was _Void_." Sheila took off at a slow (for her) trot, her mage right on her heals.

"No, stay back!" the girl screamed as she scrambled backward and tripped over a root. Panic gripped her as she pointed her wand at them.

"We aren't here to hurt you, though casting a spell on me was not very friendly," Louise called out, glaring at the girl. "Are you sure that she used void?"

"That was a Brimir Void chant, my mage. It's very distinctive. I'll have to take your wand away though." With a small tug, Sheila removed the small wand from the fallen mage's limp hand.

The girl was trembling, tears in her eyes. "Please, don't hurt me. I just wanted you to leave me in peace."

"We already told you we aren't here to hurt you," Louise said as she glared at the girl. "Though it is very surprising that you are also a Void mage."

"Also?" The girl looked quite surprised at that.

"She has elven ears. Though strangely she acts far too gentle for how the Church describes elves." Sheila's blue-green eyes were studying the blonde, elven girl.

"I don't care that she has Elvin ears, she knows Void. This makes it a matter of importance to Tristain and my queen," Louise noted aloud. "You will have to come with us."

"I can't leave," the girl said as she scrambled to her feat.

"You have to. I have many questions about Void. How did you learn it? Do you know any void spells I have not learned?" Louise suddenly slapped her forehead. "What am I saying. Of course you do. I don't know a spell to affect memories."

"No, you don't understand. I can't leave the children." Under her cloak she seemed to be very well developed, but hiding her features.

"But you are the third person that knows Void magic. It's so amazing! It's like the legends are coming alive," the much more petite void mage explained excitedly. "How did you figure out that you could use Void Magic?"

"Third person? I thought I was the only one." The girl looked incredibly flustered. "I don't want to leave. I'm happy here, protecting the children. And they won't have anyone to look after them."

"There is a solution for this," Louise said as she looked over the children that were peeking out from behind trees or some houses. "We can relocate them to an orphanage in Tristain or within the Valliere lands."

"Perfect! How many of you want to fly on the dragons to a new home?" Sheila called out to the children.

The dragon knights looked to their captain, who just shrugged. The children started to come out of the woodwork, as riding a real dragon was not something that happened every day.

* * *

A flight of twenty ships dropped anchor in what seemed to be the middle of a winter wonderland in a valley of oaks. Hovering over the temporary Tristain military camp to the northwest of Londonium, winches were lowering needed supplies. Soldiers worked quickly to take in the supplies, loading most of the food and gunpowder into wagons.

General Karin de la Valliere nodded, turning to her own chief of staff, Captain Raphael. "Remind the captains to follow the exact path so they are not seen leaving."

The bald officer nodded and headed off. He had to make sure the orphans were transferred safely back to Tristain.

Karin headed back to her command tent just a minute after three very important people. "Louise, I see you made it back from your patrol. What did you and your familiar discover?"

"Their army is preparing for an attack. If not before the end of the ceasefire for midwinter festival, then immediately after," her daughter reported crisply. Louise was very happy for her fur-lined leather coat, but loathed the cold armor she was forced to wear. It had saved her life from a musketeer during their scouting though, so she put up with it in poor grace.

"It appears they are getting ready to spring their trap. I just hope that the men we left there won't be all killed," Sheila said as she dropped into an easy, military parade-rest stance.

"We both have radios to warn them, if we can discover the nature of the trap. General Hawkins does appear to be attacking a superior foe with limited numbers." Karins green eyes studied the third figure, hidden in the cloak. "I have to say, Tiffania, you have been a very great boon with teaching Louise how to heal with your Void magic." Two Void users. This was starting to unnerve her. And this one was half-elf to boot. She seemed to be an incredibly timid person and gentle to a fault, which was the only saving grace in this mess.

The half-elf nodded. "I like to help people. And Louise has been teaching me some of her void magic. We have even found more secrets within the Founder's Prayerbook using my old ring."

"Chevalier Louise, you have guests that would like to speak to you before they depart," a crusty sergeant called out at the tent flap.

"Go say goodbye to your odd friends, Louise." It was not quite a cold dismissal, but close.

Louise ducked her head and backed out, followed by Tiffania and Sheila.

"Ah, my little darlings can even pull off the armored nobles look so wonderfully," Scarron exclaimed as he clasped his hands together, trying to pull off an infatuated, cutesy look. Being a forty plus year old man of muscular proportions, it just came across as odd.

By his side was his daughter and his niece. Jessica bobbed her head. "We are just about ready to be lifted up to take our trip back to Tristain."

"My lady Louise, are you sure I should go back to Tristain?" the equally dark-haired and more busty cousin asked.

"This won't be a good place for a maid like you, Siesta," Louise confirmed. "It will be better for you to head back at this time."

Behind them, a foppish noble coughed to gain their attention. "Besides, you can carry my letter to my beloved Monmon!" Guiche declared.

Siesta bowed to her lady. "I'll await you eagerly at the Academy unless you direct me elsewhere by letter then."

Louise nodded to them, then turned to her fellow Void user. "Tiffania, this also won't be a place for such a gentle person. Please accompany my maid to Tristain Academy. She should be able to introduce you to the Chevalier Tabitha who is sort of like us."

"Really?" the elf maiden said. Thinking things over, she smiled. She had not wanted to be involved in this war.

"Be safe everyone and travel carefully." Sheila watched them as they went to a basket on a winch, to be raised high into the sky.

"Do you really think the battle for Londonium might start tomorrow?" the Void mage asked.

"Possibly. They'll have their scouts out in force and will soon discover where we hid ourselves. I would prefer if we could meet them Murkswood Crossing. We could really destroy them with my plan."

"Let's get some food in us and continue our scouting then."

* * *

Matilda of Saxe-Gotha studied her homeland through the crisp, winter morning. "I think our plan just hit a major snag," she said over her shoulder.

The heavily cloaked up woman nodded. "We shall wait for our scout to return."

Half an hour later, an emotionless dragon knight walked tirelessly up the mountain trail. "The army of Tristain is not at Saxe-Gotha. It appears they never stayed, according to a woodcutter I convinced to talk says. There is only a small garrison force."

Sheffield frowned as she looked down at the ice on the edge of the river that led down to Saxe-Gotha. "Well, it appears that we shall have to travel back to the main group of the army. We have to stop them from attacking."

The ex-thief shook her head. "They have damnably good scouts."

Ignoring her, Sheffield started to walk along the river. Freezing a temporary bridge across the river with the Ring of Anvardi, her small group of saboteurs rode their horses to intercept the army outside of Londonium.

Matilda was just about to leading her horse into an open clearing at the top of a hill when she saw a figure almost four hundred paces in front of them. She held up her hand. "Isn't that Louise, the Void Mage of Tristain?" Across the valley could be seen the distant walls of Londonium.

"Which means that her familiar is around scouting. This is what we shall do," Sheffield ordered as she dismounted. She quickly laid out a plan as she thanked the thick brambles that had forced them to walk for the last bit.

It was only a few minutes later that Louise was startled out of her study of the army in the valley below, just over the ridge. They were just about half-way through crossing the bridge at Murkswood Crossing. Sheila was much closer, using her incredible grace to try and listen in to the sentries.

A woman was suddenly screaming as she fled a twenty foot tall golem that was chasing her out of the woods. Louise dropped to one knee, scanning the area for anyone else. There were several mages at the tree line, one of them seemingly directing the golem. Sending off a pulse of worry through her empathetic link, Louise started chanting a spell.

The explosion wiped out the golem in a split second as the fair-haired woman again screamed. The mages started to move at that point, sending spells at her in waves of wind, water and fire that the Void mage adroitly dodged while sending another explosion at one of them. Another golem was growing up out of the ground.

The woman was hardly making any progress in the snow, but Louise lightly moved to put herself between them and the woman. "Stay behind me."

The golem suddenly exploded as Sheila appeared in a whirlwind of wind and snow from across the valley.

"She is really something, isn't she?" Matilda said in wonder and fear.

Louise grinned as she looked over her shoulder. "She is my familiar."

"The Gandalfr of Louise the Zero." Matilda dropped her facade of fear as the Ring of Andvari suddenly glowed brilliantly on her finger. "Die, Louise the Zero."

Sheila's left eye suddenly starting glowing a brilliant red as she pulled Derflinger from the stomach of one of the undead mages. "Louise!"

The squelching noise that came from Louise's body would haunt her forever, as blood spewed from the Void Mage's mouth.

"So that is what the sound of an exploding heart makes," Sheffield noted casually. She lifted the ring up to examine it. "That used a lot of power, but was well worth it." The gemstone on the ring was nearly faded away.

With a snap of near instant movement, the short-haired girl caught Louise's body before it had fallen to more than its knees. "She's dead." Shock covered her face as she held her mage. Absently, she felt the runes on her left hand burning away.

"And without you being the Gandalfr, you can not face Myozthirirn," Sheffield gloated as an army of monsters appeared at the edge of the forest. The runes on her forehead were glowing as she reveled in following her master's order. "Now no one can compete with my Void master."

Sheila kissed her mage's forehead and then carefully laid the body upon the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You monster," she hissed out.

"Do you really think you can face the Mind of God, Sheila the Un-Familiar?" the familiar taunted. She formed a barrier of ice with the ring, only to gasp in surprise as the barrier was suddenly shattered by a single swing of the sword in her hands

"Fool," Sheila rasped out. "You took away my mage. I shall make you suffer an eternity in Sisyphean torment."

"Partner!" Derflinger called out worriedly.

"What is this power?" Sheffield demanded as she formed a much thicker barrier of ice and snow around her.

"This is the power of a demigoddess of battle," her foe snarled. Lightning struck from the cold, uncaring sky and shattered the barrier and scorched the woman, sending her sprawling.

Matilda stared in horror as their plan to neuter the power of the Void and her Gandalfr came unraveled. Chanting quickly, she created another golem from the deeper shadows, putting her full power behind it. The huge dirt golem had snow on its head and shoulders, like some sort of winter mountain.

Sheffield managed another barrier, but Derflinger smashed through it and into her stomach, causing her to spit blood. "No. Not this way," she condemned weakly. She blinked her blue-gray eyes as she saw the necklace upon Sheila neck. The runes on her forehead suddenly glowed with divine power. "Die."

Bruises, welts and contusions erupted across Sheila's face and body as her relic was perverted against it's owner. Undaunted, Sheila tore the sword out the side of Sheffield's body in a spray of blood.

"Damn- you-" the dying familiar said. With the last erg of her will, she tried to again wound or hurt her foe in any way with her own magical item.

Derflinger dropped from her right hand as pain screamed through it to wither the limb.

"Partner, pick me up quickly," Derflinger called out worriedly.

The army of monsters and the six mages paused, then all crumpled to the ground. Each monster flickered and then turned into small Alviss statue, slumbering again as the magic failed to control them.

Matilda licked her lips in sudden fear. She was the only one left. She directed her golem to attack, but she dove into the ground with her Earth Walking ability. The ground rumbled as the massive dirt golem charged forward.

Through bleary eyes, Sheila snarled as she called down the lightning with a gesture from her left hand. The mountain of dirt staggered as its head exploded. A second bolt blasted its right arm and a third bolt caused the rest to collapse.

"Partner! Don't leave me here," the sentient sword called out.

"Sorry, Derflinger, but I have to use a different sword now." With her left hand, she pulled the Hadecleus from its shadowy holding space. Her will fought with the sword of her departed friend and the spirits of the dead became visible. "Louise." She knelt down next the shocked shade of her love.

The ghost looked up in surprise. "She killed me. I had my whole life before me."

"I made a promise, Louise. Nothing will stand between us," Sheila said through bruised lips.

"You have to finish the battle today. Londonium must fall to the army," Louise declared as she stood up. "Don't you dare abandon them at this last moment for me. The queen is depending on you now." Her light red hair seemed white in death, blood still staining her chin.

"That will be the last thing I do before I come for you. Stay here in the land of the living for a little while. I have my promise to keep."

"I will."

The shade of Sheffield looked up in surprise as Sheila walked over. "You can not harm me. I am dead," she said in a grim voice.

"I made a promise to you, also," Sheila replied as she channeled her legend to tame the essence of Death within Hadecleus; to bind the soul to the sword. "Your torment will be eternal, Myozthirirn."

* * *

The army of Tristain and Germania was over a small hill from the army of Albion as it crossed the ancient bridge. Karin sat upon her manticore, ready to lead the army into battle.

"Their canons are starting to cross the river," a captain of the general staff called out.

"Once they are halfway, send the signal," the Heavy Wind ordered. "General Handenberg, I want your pikemen to capture the flooded canons."

"Of course," the Germanian general said, sounding offended. His spiked, iron helmet glinted in the dead of the winter afternoon.

"A flyer! It's Chevalier Louise and her familiar," a lookout called

Karin looked up in surprise, her eyes going wide as she saw Sheila carrying a prone form. "Get a water mage from the healing corp."

"There is no need," Sheila said hollowly as her feet touched down. Her face was a mass of bruises, dried tears marring her looks. "I have failed her utterly, Duchess Valliere. But she wished me to see this battle to completion. May I have her body cared for until the end of the battle?" Across her back, the sun shone off the burnished form of Derflinger's hilt.

The general of Tristain wavered for a long moment in her saddle, the manicore suddenly yowling in displeasure. "Lt. Forsis, take charge of my daughter's body. Let nothing disturb it until I return after this body. Your honor and life will be forfeit if you fail."

Sheila carried it back to the wagon train, covering it carefully with her one good hand in a white piece of canvas. She closed her eyes in a pain that was both physical and mental. At least she could heal the physical wounds, purging the bruises and marks upon her flesh by an act of her will upon her constitution. The arm was beyond her, but she did not think it would cause a problem for this battle.

A firework streaked high into the air above their army, exploding in green and gold sparks.

Miles upriver, lookouts spotted the signal. The Dot fire mage stood back at their maximum range and sent a small fireball into the barrels of gunpowder. With a roar, the beaver damn exploded, sending fragments of wood and mud high into the sky as an avalanche of mud and water was sent streaking down the riverbed in a massive roar.

Only minutes later, as the armies of Tristain and Germania crested the hills, the flood waters cut the army of Albion in half and swamped their cannons. General Hawkins saw his death coming at him as the enemy army roared as they charged over the hill to the north. Tristain cannon roared defiance, tearing apart a haphazard defense. Rifles and muskets sounded as arrows soared through the air in a whistling cadence.

The army of Albion held for half an hour as they were crushed back against the flooded river before they were force to surrender. Karin left the Germanian general to accept the surrender with ten thousand troops. The remaining part of her army turned and attacked the walls of Londonium.

"How is this possible?" Cromwell asked the captain of his remaining armed forces. The gates exploded far off from his location as a bolt of lightning blasted it, sending wooden fragments down the suddenly dangerous streets. He was trotting towards a waiting band of soldiers and their horses.

"Our army was ambushed at the river with a great magic of water. Lightning strikes from the clear sky. Their cannons are so powerful they are now ripping down our walls. I've never seen anything like them. No wonder our fleet was so totally destroyed," the captain declared.

"We shall have to flee to Gallia or Romalia. It's the only way that the Reconquistia can regroup." His bald-faced lie was accepted by them all, as they knew staying here was signing their own writ of execution.

The Emperor fled at the lead of his last twenty soldiers, riding hard on the ice encrusted road to the Rosais wold tree where the bedraggled remains of the once invincible Albion fleet lay.

"Enemy ships! They are trying to cut us off," the captain screamed out.

Up on the deck of the frigate known as the _Eagle_, Captain Derek Von Klyde peered through his spyglass down at the cowards fleeing the ruined city. "The rat is trying to run, Mr. Boldrick. Let us run him out a grand welcome and send him to hell."

"Roll out the runners!" the bosun shouted. "Prepare to drop bombs on command."

Out of the back of the Eagle, four hatch were opened and greased wooden rails extended out slightly as two hundred pound bombs slid out the back as teams of men worked quickly to pull replacements from racks. The blunt-nosed cylinders were slightly stabilized by the box-like fins of wood at the back.

Cromwell looked up as he heard a strange whistling noise; seeing strange objects raining from above. The anti-personal charges went off as the contact triggers hit the hard ground. Men and horses were shredded by the ball bearing powered explosions that covered the whole road.

With a roar, the crew of the _Eagle_ started to scream their jubilation.

Guiche screamed as his Valkyries led his mish-mash musketeers that had replaced their antique arquebus. "Forward men! For glory! For the queen!" His father and elder brother would be very proud of him, leading the first vanguard into the Saxe-Gotha and Londonium itself.

All that was left was futile resistance and the dying.

* * *

Fires roared out of control in Londonium, sending contrails of inky black smoke into the rust-red darkening sky. Torches were being brought out as General Duchess Karin de la Valliere continued to give orders. The walls were breached in six locations and the gates were mere tatters of their proud selves as the army continued to take control of more and more of the city.

A clank as an armored knee hit the icy ground brought her attention to her daughter familiar. Her _dead_ daughter. "What do you want?" she demanded of the kneeling figure.

"I would ask a small boon of the use of twenty-one riflemen for ten minutes." Behind the kneeling figure lay a cart with a wrapped up. "I have a promise to your daughter to keep."

"You failed your most grave _promise,_" Karin hissed out. Cold blue eyes studied the being that claimed to be a demigoddess. "Very well. Knights of the Red Lily, follow her orders."

The riflemen were quickly lined up in a row facing north as Sheila picked up the canvass-wrapped body and looped its ropes over her shoulder. Karin's eyes held tears that would not come as Sheila stood five feet from the end of the row, facing towards the east.

"Present arms!" After moment, she shouted the next order. "Aim into the sky!" The soldiers aimed into the air, away from any troops. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

The echoes of the gunfire echoed into the air as the soldiers nearby doffed hats and helms. To the army, young Louise and her amazing familiar had seemed undefeatable and always willing to aid the war.

Karin's hands were clenched in fists. What would this do to bring back her baby?

Then Sheila reached into the shadows of the Underworld with her left hand and pulled out an inky blade of black iron, encrusted with red rubies on its hilt as she started to walk down the row. She channeled her Legendary essence into the sword, trying to force it to obey her will. A crack resounded from the ground as she at first failed.

Holding up the sword up higher, she bent her will and forced her ichor to sing. With the sound of a frozen lock releasing and then turning, two pillars of dark stone erupted from the ground twenty feet apart with urns of blue fire atop. The yellow-orange torches flickered as if a wind had passed them coming from the pillars, turning them blue. The wind spread across the frozen battlefield turning all the fire blue and to cause them to burn coldly.

The temperature dropped as if in the middle of a deep cold from the arctic, causing all the soldiers witnessing the event to shiver and moan in terror.

Then the black, obsidian gate formed of the shadows between the two pillars, easily forty feet tall. As the gate creaked open with wails of the dead, pale figures appeared on the battlefield as if from slumber. The moans of men could be heard as the terror of actually seeing Saint Tyronil's Gate imprinted itself upon their eyes

At Sheila's side, the slight figure of her mage appeared. Louise turned to her mother and bowed. "Tell father and Cattleya that I love them. Mother, wait for me and my familiar until I return," the shade called out. She turned and took Sheila's maimed right arm's hand in her own ghostly hand.

The clanking of a chain across stone ended as a huge, draconic snout stuck its head out of the gates, roaring. Black scales seemed to make its blue fire from its mouth and eyes seem brighter and more cruel. A cruel collar with spike lay around its mighty neck.

"Bar not our path Guardian of Saint Tyronil, Metus Draco. We are only entering into the Underworld this day," Sheila called out, holding up Hadecleus.

It's bellow was terrifying, heard all through Londonium. Baleful blue-fire eyes glared at her and the shades, but then pulled back through the gate.

Sheila led the procession of the dead, hand in hand with her mage's shade and carrying her cold body. Hundred of new ghosts followed, streaming into the Land of the Frozen Dead.

Finally, after the last ghost passed, the gates started to close with the massive sound of stone upon stone. Obsidian doors faded aware into shadows, leaving two pillars of stone with empty, cold urns upon the top.

And a Legend was born.

* * *

Epilogue the First:

"Your majesty! Your majesty!" a military courier called out from the doorway. "A great news has happened! Londonium has fallen and the Usurper has been confirmed killed."

Henrietta the First half rose from where she sat near the sickbed of Prince Wales. "Is it true? Is the war over?" Wales had been moved from the Academy, as it seemed not safe enough for him after the attack by the mercenaries from Albion. It was an easy decision to make to move him here to the apartments next to her own royal quarters, where she could visit him daily.

"There may be more fighting, but the Reconquistia is defeated." The soldier looked worried as he read further down the missive. "There is a personal message from General Karin de la Valliere. Losses were light and only two thousand casualties. She regrets to inform you that your childhood friend, her daughter Louise de la Valliere, did not survive the battle."

Henrietta's jubilation shattered like a bubble as she staggered back as if from a heavy blow or attack. "Louise? Louise is dead?" A keening wail built up in her chest. She threw herself upon the prone from of her love, as if to take strength from his close presence.

She had subsided to sobs after ten minutes, only to realize that someone was petting her long, dark hair. Looking up from Wales' chest her previous sadness was suddenly pierced by the confused expression of Wales of Albion.

"You should not be sad, my love. I am fine." He smiled at her so gently.

The kiss he received nearly knocked him out and leaving him quite breathless.

* * *

Epilogue the Second:

A pale-haired man sat in the middle of a lavish room of plush carpeting, intricately carved wooden panels and velvet couches and chairs, full of dolls and figurines on tables, shelves and the floor. His clothing was of the highest quality as he held a female doll in a cloak, a strange rune marked on its forehead. He suddenly turned and pulled a hidden rope behind a curtain.

"Your majesty," a butler said in just moments at the door.

"Where is Sheffield? I want news from the war front," the king of Gallia, Joseph, demanded.

"One of the officers mentioned that he saw a fleet heading to the air-harbor. It should not be much longer before we have more information about the situation in Albion." The butler stayed bowed halfway.

Joseph nodded, putting his doll in a treasured and protective case. "Of course. Let us meet him at the entrance."

They walked through the palace of Versailles, the king ignoring the treasures of a kingdom. The massive, curved marble stairs led to the main foyer that was bigger than most commoner's homes.

The door was just closing behind a young lieutenant, who upon seeing the king dropped to one knee. "Your majesty, I carry news from the fleet."

"Tell me the news quickly," the king asked eagerly. In fact, almost child-like in his intensity.

"We came upon the fleet of Tristain and Germania at Dartanes just as we expected. Unfortunately, their army was not in sight and they formed up to meet us. Admiral Hevaries sent out a single battleship to test their metal, firing at the fleet. He of course inflicted some grave damage on a single ship." The young blond gulped. "Two of their ships then turned their prow towards his ship and fired but four shots, causing the loss of the _Gauntlet_. As the army of Tristain and Germania did not appear to be in retreat, a single ship was then sent to Rosais."

The pale king of the mightiest country of Haklgenia was almost shivering in rage. "Continue. Quickly."

"What they found there was the shattered remains of the Reconquistia and Tristain firmly in control. Tales of miracles and horrors abound, as they claim that Saint Tyronil himself appeared on the battlefield to gather Louise the Void into the Realm of the Dead personally as a new saint."

"She's dead?" At least one good piece of news, the pale king seemed to think.

"Her shade bid her mother wait for her return."

Joseph's fists shook. "Leave now. LEAVE NOW!" The king swept up the stairs to his private room.

Picking up his doll of Sheffield, he tossed it to the ground. "You failed! Albion was to be mine to give away! Where is my Founder's Treasure, Sheffield! You are a bad doll! A bad doll indeed!" He started stamping it like a child in a fit. Finally he kicked the remains of the doll across the room.

Taking out his wand, he shouted, "Fire Ball! FIRE BALL!"

An explosion of Void destroyed the far end of the room and insane laughter drifted out of the smoke. "No one else can stand against me! Haha. Hahahah! All the Void will be mine!"


	8. The Cost of the Oath

**Scion of Zero VIII  
** **The Cost of the Oath**

No stars existed in the Underworld of Halkgenia, only ever-present dark clouds above them as snow swirled about their feet in the rocky path. The ghosts of the soldiers that died at Londonium followed behind the demigoddess and her companion at the front.

"Do you have a plan?" Louise asked as she trudged at Sheila's side.

"Plans are very, very good," the sword Derflinger said nervously

"Plan B is we have to travel to Saint Tyronil's courtroom. I'll have to convince him to let me return with you alive, as I'd rather like you warm and cuddly." The scion's short hair was glinting in the darkness, pale yellow from the luminescence of the ghosts she was leading down a craggy, windswept path. The dust and snow that was blowing around stung all of their eyes.

"What happened to Plan A?" Louise asked in long practiced sufferance.

"Failed when I opened a gateway to this Underworld and not my great-uncle's realm," she admitted. "I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Great-uncle Hades is very jealous of the dead leaving his realm. He's only offered it a few times. And usually has very sticky strings attached."

That actually caused Louise to stumble a little bit.

"I hope Saint Tyronil judges your soul unworthy and casts it into the ever freezing fire pits of Dormakth!" Sheffield's voice came from the sword Hadecleus in her left hand.

"I think that is more likely your fate, Myozthirirn," the scion countered.

General Hawkins frowned behind her. "What do you mean your uncle's realm?" the ghost asked.

"I think what you are really wanting to ask is who is my uncle and why would he have his own realm in the Underworld," Sheila noted aloud. At the shade's shrug, she continued. "He is a powerful god of Death, of course."

The highest ranking Tristain, a colonel of one of the pike battalions exclaimed, "Impossible."

"Why? Because that would make me a demigoddess? Or able to open a gateway to the Underworld myself?"

"Yeah! Nothing is impossible to my partner!" Derflinger said way to forcefully. "She's going to be the best partner and not leave me to rust away in the Underworld! Right partner?"

The girl rolled her eyes at the sword's antics. "I have no intention of leaving you here, Derflinger." The young scion looked up suddenly. "A raven."

The army was still snaking behind her, glowing like serpentine river of pale light in the gloom up the narrow valley of rock and snow.

"Ravens are a bad omen," Louise said as she tried to pierce the darkness. Her improved eyesight could still not make out the bird in the gloom.

They continued on down the trail in the slotted canyon, the pathway actually narrowing as rock walls rose up in sheer faces. A howling wind was at their back, carrying a cold, gritty snow with sand in it. Sheila and Louise turned a corner to see two figures carved into the walls on either sides, staring at each other in hatred from over two hundred feet up.

Cold fury could be see within their antagonistic stance. The human on the left, bearded, weathered and worn, carried an ancient short blade. The elf on the left carried a far more elegant, curved saber and looked almost pristine.

Sheila was more worried by the figure dressed in loose robes, his head covered in a wrap against the cold. "An elf and most likely a god or demigod."

The human ghosts at her side and behind her murmured, agitated at the interruption at their journey to their final judgment.

"Halt, humans. You shall not pass to strengthen your armies on the Plains of Ebon Night," the melodic voice of the elf declared. "You may as well return whence you came."

"They have come from the plains of Londonium, where they died in mortal combat. All we seek is to pass here to the Court of Saint Tyronil so that they may be judged," the living figure at the head declared. "Bar not our path, for we will not stand for your interference here."

"Bah, you lie as always humans." The elf pulled out a blade that looked very similar to the statue above his head.

With a clank of metal on stone, Sheila slammed Hadecleus into the ground in front of her so that she could lay the body of her mage upon the ground carefully. At her side, the shade of Louise clenched her hands in frustration. She wanted to go into battle but she did not have a wand.

"What is you name?" Sheila asked conversationally.

"I am Glarion of the Black Wings. And your name?" he asked in return.

"I am Sheila daughter of Athena the Wise." At his startlement, she snatched Hadecleus from the ground and charged in a blur.

"Ah, you aren't going to use me?" Derflinger asked nervously from her back.

Steel met steel in a clarion ring of battle as the elf suddenly found himself on the defensive. With sigh, he sent back an attack that had killed hundreds of humans with its unmatched lethality; three sweeps to move their blade out of position and then a thrust that-

-failed to disembowel his opponent due to a perfectly executed block? "What?" Glarion asked as he was forced to give more ground. "Compared to you, my skill is unmatchable! No human can reach my mastery in blades, as you live far too shortly." And most of the dead never learn or improve.

"I am a demigoddess of battle. I mastered a sword when I first picked one up to use in combat." Glimmers of light were sparking within Sheila's short hair as she pressed forward in an almost blinding blizzard of sword attacks.

"A demigoddess? Not a saint? And Athena? Is that similar to Althena the Cunning?" Glarion asked in a very intrigued voice as he tried to cut her arm in a crippling attack.

From the army behind her, shouts of amazement and cheers were starting to be called out. Even General Hawkins could not stop hope from arising in his dead heart. This was someone that could match an elf!

"Possibly. I am not from this world, as I was summoned to become a Gandalfr."

"Gandalfr? The Void has been reborn upon the world?" The elf was finding the fight disconcerting, as a wound finally was inflicted upon his arm. The scratch would not hinder him, but it was the first time a human had ever wounded him.

Sheila heard a click from behind her as they danced with deadly blades, circling in the tight environment.

Louise's six-shooter roared fury as she fired at the Elven demigod. The wound was slight, less than a scratch.

Hadecleus being shoved through his stomach because of the distraction was far more serious. Glarion of the Black Wings stepped backwards with a grimace as his blood stained his robes. "You are dangerous, Gandalfr."

"I am no longer Gandalfr." Sheila continued her one-handed assault upon him, their swords a cacophony of deadly music as she continued to drive him back.

"Ha! Take that! And that!" Derflinger called out. "You really need both arms, boss!"

The army of dead humans finally had enough room to start streaming around the Elf.

"Tchk. Undone. You have made me an enemy that will haunt you forever; Sheila, daughter of Athena." The elf stepped backwards quickly, concentrating as he shifted into the form of a raven.

The bird was just lifting into the air, barely dodging a cut that would have crippled its wing. With a cry of anger, it fled into the darkened sky.

Sheila looked away from the fleeing bird after deciding to not chase it, turning to look at Louise with a wide smile. "Thanks. That fight could have gone on for hours without your help."

"You are my true companion. And when we get back to Halkgenia, I will ask you to be my familiar again." Louise said as she walked up. Then she traced the jaw of her once familiar with her cold hand. "I do miss your longer hair." She then slipped her pistol in her holster and the wand she pilfered from her own body was kept in her hand.

Sheila rubbed her hand through the short fuzz. She closed her eyes for a second, then with a ripple it grew down her back. "I'm never going to have short hair again, am I?"

Louise looked a bit smug at the comment. "Not if I have anything to say. But why is it glowing like sunlight?" the dead Void mage asked.

"Eh?" Sheila pulled a lock before her eyes, realizing that it was indeed glowing. "Could it be?" She again closed her eyes as the glow seemed to strengthen, warming her skin and brightening this area on the edge of the Plains of Ebon Night.

The light grew brighter even as her form seemed to sublimate. With a crack of thunder, her form became nebulous and cloud-like. Her laughter pealed out, joyous and carefree as something new came into existence.

"Sheila? What's going on?" Louise asked worriedly.

"HOLY CRAP!" Derflinger called out from within the glow as he fell to the ground next to the sword Hadecleus and a ring.

The army of the dead were shielding their eyes from the sight, confused. Hadn't she won her battle against the elf?

With a soundless implosion, Sheila reappeared with only a soft glow left over. Somehow, her form was more there... more real and with a greater sense of self.

"Ooh. Manifesting a physical body takes a bit of effort," she complained even as a wide smile stayed on her face.

"Sheila!" Louise shouted, stamping her feet.

"Er, sorry. That was my Apotheosis. My ascension to goddess-hood!" The new goddess suddenly snatched up the shade of Louise around like a little girl with _both _arms. "Let's not wait a moment longer! We have to return to Halkgenia as soon as possible!"

Louise could not help it, laughing helplessly. Once she was set down, Sheila picked up her burden again from two officers of the Tristain army.

"Hey! Don't forget me! And your other sword and that ring!"

Louise quickly gathered the items for Sheila.

General Hawkins looked over the army of Albion, Tristain and Germania. "Gentlemen, let us sing of victory! Onward!" He carried up his wand, pointing it towards dim blue fires on the horizon of snow and black rock.

With a roar, the army of ghosts formed up into shattered ranks and started to stamp their feet in time. Trumpets, drums and something that sounded very similar to a bagpipe rang out.

* * *

Queen Henrietta of Tristain stepped off the gangplank of the famed frigate known as the _Eagle_ and onto the world tree Rosais. On her arm stood Prince Wales, hiding his weakness from his long coma, so as to hide his infirmity in front of his country. Below them on the grounds next to the large granite port of call lay the entire army of Tristain and Germania in row after gleaming row. Trumpets and drums beat out national anthem of Tristain as the black-clad queen and prince walked down the haphazard path from the branch until they disappeared within.

The drums and trumpets were much more deafening on the ground as they exited the world tree. Prince Wales opened the door to Henrietta's unicorn carriage and then entered behind her. Lastly came Cardinal Mazarin and Captain Derek Von Klyde, hero of Albion's Royalists.

"They seem in high spirits after their victory," Henrietta said in a troubled voice.

"Pagentry. My father said it was necessary for an army to prepare to depart the battlefield," Wales said as he sank deeply into his seat. He was working hard to overcome his weakness, but it was going to take months to get any of his real strength back.

"Those little things can be a great comfort," the thin and old cardinal said. "And these are changed men who saw a miracle."

"The Gates of Tyronil." Captain Von Klyde shuddered slightly at that. That day when the fires of Londonium burned cold and blue had seemed like a horror of hell come to Halkgenia.

The unicorns trotted down the road to Londonium under the manticore knights careful watch. At about the halfway point, the captain spoke up again.

"This is where the traitor met his end. He was trying to fleet the country. A coward through and through. I hear he never even took to the battlefield himself. Not even once." The captain of the _Eagle _could not hide his disdain.

"Peace, brave Derek. If I had been as foolhardy as I had first thought, I would have died in vain for my country." Wales smiled to remove the sting from his word.

Derek nodded his head in acceptance.

The palace within Londonium had been ravaged by the fighting, with crude doors replacing the stout oaks of Wales' childhood.

"You highness!" an old man called out, one of the last of the Royalists that had come out of the woodwork after the defeat of the Reconquisia.

"Oldman Warrens. It is good to see you again," the prince exclaimed as he stepped out of the carriage behind the queen. "Give thanks to Queen Henrietta."

"Is it true that you plan to wed?' Warrens asked.

Queen Henrietta nodded her head to the old man as she squeezed Wales' hand. "Yes. The sooner the better."

"That is good. But the disposition of poor, wounded Albion must be made. I understand that King Albrecht the III of Germania will be arriving shortly." Warrens did not sound thrilled at that matter.

"Albion will be joined with Tristain, for the most part. But Germania's princes must be paid off. The Highlands of Roetland will fall under their sway, though I hope to make it agreeable to all," Wales explained to the old noble.

The old man shrugged, as he had never liked the people of the northern highlands. "So will our Island of the Sky become Tristain even in name?"

They had been walking through the palace, led by Wales into a parlor. "No, my love and I have been thinking matters over. There are some significant differences between our lands. Reforms that she is putting into place could not happen in Albion, as it will just cause another rebellion. Perhaps we can, what was the term my love? Enfranchise our commoners soon..."

"That Parliament of the Commons?" Von Klyde asked curiously. "I have a hard time understanding why you took that action, Queen Henrietta."

The queen looked away and out the windows over the gardens, wet with dew and melting snow. "It has to do with the guns that won the war. They do not require magic to make nor use. And they can give a commoner near even footing with a noble in the matters of killing. I take these actions to cut short discontent and rebellion."

Wales frowned at that as he settled into a chair. "I'm not sure this is the best way, but your arguments hold some great weight. While the commoners do not have our magical, holy mandate, the gap between the gentry and the commoners is much narrower than ever before."

Cardinal Mazarin just shook his head. "This will just embolden the masses and make them think they have more power than they should."

"Should or could, my advisor?" Henrietta asked archly.

The older man looked upset at that insinuation. "At least you are being wise enough to not just in and give them all noble's rights."

Henrietta just nodded sadly, then turned to other matters. "Unfortunately, the taxes upon Albion's nobles that betrayed the royal family will cause discontent. There is no way around that."

Captain Von Klyde chuckled at that. "It is either that or the headsman. I think they'll pay."

A knock at the door called their attention. Wales twirled his wand, opening the door.

"Marshal de Poitiers, General de la Valliere and General Handenburg. Welcome," Queen Henrietta said with a smile. "Please, come sit and we shall discuss military matters."

"Your majesty, the Reconquistia is totally destroyed. It appears that almost all of their true leadership was killed or captured in Londonium," Poitiers began without preamble. "And at a cost of only three thousand soldiers."

"The cost in people is always too high," Henrietta said with a sigh. "How are you coping, General de la Valliere?"

"Your concern is unneeded. Louise stated that she will return and I see no reason that will not happen," Karin the Heavy Wind replied with a stiff nod of her head.

"But dear Louise is dead," the queen protested.

"At the Gates of the Dead as her familiar led them into the Underworld, Louise told me she would return. I believe in her."

"Ah, the miracle. And what did these gates look like?" Cardinal Mazarin asked in a superior manner.

Handenburg shuddered at that as he set his spiked, iron-pot helmet to the side. "It was a gate of solid shadows between two black-granite pillars with urns of cold fire atop them. The dragon... was a horror beyond measure. To see the ghosts of the dead walk through that gate will haunt me to the day I die."

Mazarin's superior attitude fell at that. "You saw this with your own eyes?"

"We both did. Even I felt a terror beyond compare at seeing into the Underworld through those grim gates," Karin stated curtly. "I understand that the local churches and cathedrals are packed every Day of Void."

"And the gates remained?" Mazarin asked a little nervously.

"The pillars and empty urns. My understanding is the local deacon at the Cathedral of Londonium is looking to build a church or cathedral upon that site," the marshal of the Tristain and Germanian army explained.

Von Klyde nodded grimly at the information. "It is as they say. The world changed upon the plains of Londonium."

Then matters turned to the pacification of Albion and the upcoming wedding.

* * *

Guiche de Gromant walked into the main gate of the Academy, causing a slight stir among the mostly female people that remained. "Ah, it is good to feel welcome!" He had gotten permission to head back early, as he had impressed them with his valor.

Wandering the school grounds after dropping off his luggage in his rooms, he was happy to see friends and companions. Long blonde hair under a hair tweaked a memory. He ambled over towards the very well developed girl who was sitting next to the Gallian Tabitha and the Germanian Kirche. "You were that flower of a girl that was a companion of Louise and Sheila." He had met with those two at times, though they ranged around to scout and with the general staff.

Tiffania bobbed her head. "Er, yes. Tabitha and I have been studying magic together. We share... partial affinities."

The pale-haired Tabitha had a head in a book, but nodded slightly to the foppish soldiers.

"I hear the strangest rumors," Kirche said as she sat up straighter. "Is it true that Sheila opened the Gates of Saint Tyronil?"

"I've seen them myself, though I was fighting in Londonium when they were opened. I could not believe that Louise had been killed." The earth mage frowned in a very pretty manner. "Though I'm confused as to why everyone insists that Sheila opened the gate."

Tabitha shrugged after a long moment, even as Kirche slapped her fist into her palm.

"It just has to be because she's a demigoddess of the old gods of the Hellas Republic," the red-head boasted.

"Kirche," her friend said in a slightly disapproving tone.

"It's not like it can hurt her now," Kirche argued.

"Wait wait... What do you mean Sheila is a demigoddess?" the only male mage asked of them. "Because everything I had heard stated she was going with Louise into the Underworld to bring her back."

Tabitha's eyes were wide in shock behind her glasses.

"That's not possible." Kirche's own eyes were wide.

"I wish I had been there," the half-elf said sadly as she pulled her hat down slightly. "I might have been able to heal her if it had been a short enough time."

"Sheila is very capable of healing," Guiche said, realizing that she never ever used a wand to do so. "In fact, I heard a rumor that she healed a girl of an coughing disease that even the Tears of the Water Spirit could not heal."

Kirche whistled at that. "They are very rich enough for that, I suppose. I doubt even the Tears of the Water Spirit used by a Triangle mage are that potent."

Tiffania bowed her head. "They were really something. I'm not even sure why I am here."

"Void." Tabitha was looking over the book she was reading.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Kirche asked.

"Another Void mage?" Guiche said sounding extremely confused. "Are they starting to grow on trees?"

"Explosion," Tabitha called out as she blasted a crater into the ground fifty feet away. After the echoes faded away in the Vestri Court she raised her wand again. "D-dispel."

A bright light appeared for just a second even as her staff wavered. Kirche suddenly took two quick steps to catch Tabitha before she fainted away.

"I'm starting to think fair Kirche that the only reason Void disappeared into the annuals of history was no one had any notes on how to cast it," Guiche stage whispered to the haughty fire mage.

"Oh shut up!" she shouted, very vexed that she still could not cast a single void spell. "You over did it again. Why are you pushing so hard?"

But Tabitha could not answer, as she had fallen unconscious from her efforts.

And Kirche actually had a fairly good idea of what she planned to dispel anyways.

* * *

The Army of Void wended its way across the Plains of Ebon Night. Up ahead could be seen a soft glow as they crested a shallow hill.

General Hawkins nodded as he struggled to remember. "The everlasting battle between Elves and Humans."

"They do battle upon the Eternal Night to protect the Wakening World. Lo is the Fate of you Soul Determined," Sheila quoted. "Though the human army appears to be over-matched."

Indeed, the human side was barely holding against the far fewer numbers of elves, even pushed back against the fortress of Last Redoubt. The grim gray walls of the fortress held screaming ghosts that were being cut down the the flashing steel of the Thwab-like wrapped up elves. Ancient magic scoured humans from the wall in fire, water or with blasting air as the stone wall sundered under the attack.

Six elves moved their way confidently.

"Form ranks! Muskets ready!" the general shouted to his army as he waved his pike forward to make a defensive barrier.

Sheila raised up a hand, then clenched it tight as three lightning bolts struck from the sky and killed three of the elves. Louise had finally found her regular wand upon her body and started chanting as the small attack group suddenly found itself facing something they had not prepared for.

"Explosion!" Louise shouted as a massive ball of nothing hit the final three elves, obliterating them.

The Elven army of ghosts at the walls suddenly found themselves beset by two directions.

"Fire!" Hawkins shouted, dropping his dueling-wand at the advancing fifty elves. The muskets, arquebus and rifles fired to devastating affect at short range, even as the pikemen charged into the breach.

An Elven ghost charged over with a sword that seemed to be made of silver, only to be met by the golden-haired goddess wielding an ancient Artifact. He had centuries of experience and a magic sword that had never failed him. He found himself in a very strange situation, as the more than human opponent started driving him back in a flickering-flurry a strikes, stabs and sweeps. A sixteen set of countering moves flipped the sword out of his hand and then removed his surprised head from his body.

"That's the way to do it, partner!" Derflinger cried out excitedly. "Next!"

Hawkins' mages then joined the battle, summoning golems and gusts of wind and fire. "For Brimir! For Halkgenia!" they roared as one.

"False elements! Perverters of magic!" an Elf carrying a golden bow shouted, even as he pulled out a wand and unleashed a much larger wall of fire at the Army of Void.

"Dispel!" Louise finished chanting quickly, wiping away the Ancient magic of fire of the Elves.

"Void! Quickly, kill her before she can cast any more spells!" another Elf shouted.

Three Elves charged to her, only to be met by Derflinger in one hand and backed by her pistol in her off hand. Only one of them survived to retreat, holding his arm as it leaked ethereal blood upon the ground.

"Gandalfr! Gandalfr!" the army of Tristain shouted. "Louise the Zero!"

On the walls of the Last Redoubt, pale blue eyes on the face of a ghost nodded. "Sound the counter attack," the bearded ghost called out. "Attack them with everything you have."

Behind the Elven army, a blue-white glow was growing on the horizon.

The first two armies on the field marveled at the strangeness. "What is that? Why does it bring up an old memory?" one of the ancient human ghosts asked.

"A dawn? That is impossible," the general of the Elven army called out as he directed a massive glowing meteor of purple fire at the army, only to gnash his teeth in frustration as it was snuffed out by the Void mage.

And for the first time, dawn washed over the Plains of Ebon Darkness, blinding everyone as the sunlight shown off the trampled snow on the ground. Not understanding the change in the balance in the war of metaphysics, the Elven army retreated in disarray back the way they had come.

Then the mighty gates to the Last Redoubt of Saint Tyronil opened as horns sounded mournfully for the first time.

"Let's go to your court of judgment, my mage," Sheila said as she flicked off the ghostly blood of the Elves from Derflinger. She once again took up her burden from two soldiers.

The defenders lined up in ranks on each side of the gate. Under the brightening sky of white clouds, they looked far more substantial.

"Welcome. Has Halkgenia united itself under the Founder?" the bearded man in the old leather armor asked of General Hawkins at the gate.

"I-" The general thought hard for a long moment. This had been something that had haunted his long march here. "We have failed to unite Halkgenia. I fear we were led astray by an apostate. We thought we followed the Holy Void, but I have seen Void used by our enemies when we took the field of battle to conquer Tristain."

"Then this dawn is false, for we shall fall back under the darkness of the Elves soon." The old man bowed at his waist slightly, leaning on hist old staff. "I am Saint Tyronil, Guardian and Judge of the Dead."

Louise stepped up. "I am Chevalier Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, the Zero and Void user. I come here in the company of the one who was my Gandalfr."

"Then the prophecy has failed, again." The old saint looked bitter at that under the wan light.

"Perhaps. And perhaps not, Saint Tyronil. I have come to return Louise to the realm of the living, to follow my eternal oath." Sheila stepped forward. Now that eyes were drawn to her, it was quite evident that she was no ghost or spirit, but something more profound with her glowing hair. "But to do so, I must have your blessing as caretaker of the dead of Halkgenia."

"Once the dead have reached here, there is no going back. Even if I gave my blessing, the Terrible Dragon guards the gate and no mortal may fight him and win," Tyronil declared.

"Then it is lucky I am not mortal. She is my companion and I will safeguard her back to life."

The Judge of the Dead stared at her for a long time. "Who are you that claims such? You are no Saint of the Founder's Church."

"I am Sheila of the Dodekatheon, Goddess of War and Excellence. I was called her in the last days before my Apotheosis to be Louise the Zero's Gandalfr. On the Plains of Ebon Night, I brought my light."

"You are from the Lost Gods of the Mount of Hellas?" Tyronil's eyes were quite hard.

Sheila quirked a small grin. "Not... exactly. I was born under a sky that only had one Moon. In that place, the Gods of Olympus still reside in their halls and take visit upon the mortals of their mortal world. Louise's magic was so powerful that it pulled me from a far off Underworld to guard her."

"That seems... absurd," the saint replied flatly.

"I was supposedly the perfect match for her needs and wants. I am afraid your Halkgenia is in for for a rough time though. As her needs required a demigoddess on the cusp of divinity," she countered, he blue-green eyes matching his dark brown ones for hardness.

"There is a cost to letting her return to the world of the living," the saint informed bluntly. "Are you willing to pay that cost?"

"She has promised me this. I believe her," Louise said simply.

"I have more than one possible way, but I am willing to hear the cost," the newly minted goddess replied without pause.

"I will lay a geas upon you for allowing you to return to the mortal world with Louise the Zero. You will unite Halkgenia, take the Holy Land from the Elves and finish Brimir's Holy Task of destroying the Elves," Saint Tyronil declared.

Sheila nodded her head back and forth in thought, narrowing her eyes. "That's actually fairly reasonable."

"Fail and die... and your soul is forfeit, to languish within the Fire Pits of Dormakth for eternity."

"An unpleasant end. How do you want this oath taken?" Sheila asked the saint.

"Partner? Are you sure? You are committing to destroy an entire race!" Derflinger, on her back, exclaimed in shock.

Louise seemed perturbed, but just nodded at Sheila, giving her a soft smile.

"Follow me." The old saint turned and entered the grim fortress, leading them to a great hall. The dusty windows were letting in the meager, blue-white light. "This is the Founder's Censor. Or to be more accurate, it's shadow here in the Underworld. It is by its grace that the Last Redoubt could never fall permanently. Thousands of times was the keep destroyed and our blood spilled, only for it to rebirth us from nothing. Speak your oath to it and beware any falseness in your words." Tyronil stood to the right of the censor's stand as smoke rose from it.

The blue-white smoke seemed to draw in what little light the dust-covered windows let seep in as it sat on the low, stone altar. Louise's body was carefully set on the altar behind it with care and reverence.

The goddess then knelt in front of the censor, then placed her armored hand upon it. "I, Sheila daughter of Athena, do so swear that I shall unite Halkgenia, take back the Holy Land and destroy the Elves in return for Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, the Zero, to be released back into the lands of the living."

The smoke suddenly coiled around, as if a silent wind was swirling it. The smoke suddenly lashed out, striking out at the heart of her chest. Light erupted from the point of contact as the holy artifact imbued her with a geas.

The ghost of Louise was suddenly ripped from her side and pulled into the censor. For one long moment nothing seemed to happen, then her soul-smoke floated out to drift out of the censor and into her dead body's mouth and nose.

With a cough, she started to breathe and struggle against the wrappings. "Ouch. I forgot how much my body hurt-" Louise blinked as she felt all of her pains fade as the bindings were removed. "Thank you, Sheila."

That was the last thing she could say as her lips were suddenly and fully occupied by a kissing goddess.

Outside on the plains, the blue sun arose fully as lost armies of men could finally see their way free of the mountains and towards the Last Redoubt. There numbers were legion, blotting out the brilliant snow as they marched and sang for the first time in six hundred years.

* * *

Queen Henrietta of Tristain and Albion slipped from her bed, leaving the slumbering form of her husband under the blankets. It was still cold, if not bitter in Albion. She slipped on a robe over her nakedness and knelt in front of a painting of the Founder to begin her early morning prayers by candlelight.

These days she slept better, but sweet solace still eluded her. It was as she was in the third adoration of Saint Miratu that the bells of Londonium started tolling in rolling waves of cadences. With a flicker of an invisible wind, the candles flames turned blue.

Outside the city, in the new encampment of the Church, the urns of Life and Death roared to life much to the amazement of all the gathered supplicants. Wisps of shadow started to form between the pillars of Infinity and Eternity for all to see. The church guards stepped back as they realized at the Gates of Saint Tyronil reformed before them.

Cardinal Mazarin stood at the front of his palatial tent in nothing but a white sleeping robe, his eyes drinking in the sight of a miracle. The ground heaved and a roar echoed through the closed gates. Bitter cold ice formed on the intricately carved obsidian gate, only to shatter and fall to the ground as the Gate cracked open.

With a massive crash, Metis Draco slammed open the gate with his tail and roared defiance. The terrible wyrm screamed in pain as a bolt of lightning slammed into its scaled form. The crowds rushed backwards as they realized that something was fighting its way back through the Gate.

The dragon spat vile blue-fire that was swallowed by a flaming windstorm that burned his snout. For the split second its eyes were closed, a form flew through the fire.

"Dispel the magic," Sheila called out from the living side of the Gate on the Plains of Londonium.

The dragon saw the gates closing and pushed against them, forcing them back open. It saw movement from above and snapped out at the new, flying attacker. Julio Roma's dragon failed to dodge... fully! But he himself was uninjured as Metis Draco bit down upon his mount's left wing and behind him.

One baleful eye glared at him as Julio set his Right Hand of God upon the snout. "Serve me!" he ordered through his terror. And the Wyndalfr runes burst to life, shattering the chains of its last servitude and bonding new ones. Julio leaped from the dead body of his last dragon and onto the head of Saint Tyronil's dragon. "To Romalia."

The dragon screeched its defiance but shouldered its way out of the Gate and into the air.

"Now that was surprising. So he was the Right Hand of God like I expected?" Sheila said to Louise as they floated over the plains, the barest licks of dawn approaching over the east.

The Gates shuddered close with a deafening smash of stone upon stone.

"What will happen now that the Guardian of Saint Tyronil's Gate is gone?" Louise asked, instantly fearing the words.

"Ghosts and other beings of the realm of the dead may be able to come back across. It appears things are now on the move," the goddess said as they alighted on the ground. With a wave, she healed Louise most serious burns. "I'll have to fix your hair later."

Louise looked over the awe-struck faces in front of her. It was silent except for the drum of hooves at the gate of the city. "I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, the Zero and I am returned!" She raised her wand high, sending sparks far high into the new dawn. The roar from the crowd was deafening in return to her proclamation.

Karin de la Valliere leaped from the back of her horse and started to push through the crowed, her eyes hard in purpose.

"Mother!" the young woman cried out. In an instant, she was pushing through the crowd with strength far beyond her petite appearance. She brushed aside hands that were desperate to touch herself.

"Louise. Your familiar returned with you as promised. Your queen awaits." A hint of a smile touched her lips. Even the Rule of Steel was not immune to miracles.

* * *

"-and after convincing Saint Tyronil, we were allowed to depart to Halkgenia with Louise being once more quite corporeal," Sheila was explaining to Henrietta and Wales in a private study. Cold sunlight drifted through the dreary, winter clouds. Though a hint of spring could be seen. She was still in her armor, though somehow quite cleaned and immaculate.

"I dare say they will likely canonize you, Louise the Zero," King Wales said as he leaned forward on his cane in front of his seat.

"Saint Louise. I think I could live with that," Queen Henrietta mused aloud as she studied her old friend. In many ways, Louise seemed identical. But in a very strange way, she seemed more there than any mortal should ever hope to be.

"Indeed, your return from the dead as witnessed by myself and the Deacon of Londonium will go far to that effect." Cardinal Mazarin tried to smile, but it was very forced. "After all, you qualify in all particulars."

Wales leaned over slightly to put his hand upon his wife's hand. "We should explain her holdings."

"Of course, my love." Henrietta stood up. "Louise, kneel before your liege."

Karin de la Valliere raised an eyebrow at this. It appears that the queen had some surprises in store.

Louise did not even question her old friend and monarch, going to one knee with a bowed head. She hoped that she had finally earned the accolades that she had wanted for too long.

The queen had risen, drawing out her sword of state. "Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, do you here by reaffirm your loyalty to your queen and king, even after your death?"

"I do, your majesty. I am your vassal and servant."

"Then I dub you Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere de _Al'Valliere, _Duchess of Al'Valliere for duties and honor earned on the field of battle. Before these witnesses and God, let it be known that until such time as I am able to produce an heir that this person stands as such to the thrones of Tristain and Albion and is known as princess."

Cardinal Mazarin and Count Derek von Klyde gaped at the suddenness of the ennoblement. Karin de la Valliere let herself be seen smiling ever so slightly at her daughters success.

"You honor me beyond words," Louise stated back quite formally.

"Then rise, Duchess Al'Valliere." Henrietta smiled at her radiant friend. She knew of Louise's despair at being a failure for so very long. "Unfortunately, business must go on as we work to heal poor Albion." She turned to the majordomo and nodded to him.

The servant left for a long minute, returning with General Marquis Handenburg and a man with pale hair in royal purple robes.

"Quite an unusual morning. Ah, tis Louise the Zero and her familiar!" Handenburg called out in a loud manner.

"King Joseph and Count Handenburg, well met. This is my heir pro tem, Duchess Louise al'Valliere and her familiar," Queen Henrietta proclaimed.

Handenburg was quite shocked while Joseph's eyes studied the girl closely.

'Kill them both, my king,' Sheffield snarled out from the sword Hadecleus at Sheila's hip. 'I did not fail! Louise the Zero was killed!'

Sheila schooled her face to show no expression. This could just be a trick by Sheffield, though she did not think the ghost realized that she could see and hear her all the time and not when just holding the sword.

"I had heard rumor of your return," King Joseph said quite suavely to Louise, who bowed quite politely in return. "A mage of the element of Void. How quite grand."

"On to matters of state," King Wales called out with a bemused smile. "We do have so much business to affirm our royal standing."

* * *

Joseph of Gallia let his smile drop from his face as he entered his private quarters. With a yell, he kicked an end table over and the three travelling dolls. "Were are you Sheffield?"

A knock at the door interrupted him as a servant went to answer it. A cloaked up figure was escorted in.

"Who are you to cover your head in the presence of a king?" the pale-haired king asked with a hard edge to his voice.

"Just a humble priest that certain parties wish to ask some questions of. But the Pope bade me contact you about the matter of Void," Julio Roma explained as he pulled back his hood.

"Void? Such a weighty matter," Joseph replied as he walked over to a small wet bar and filled himself a drink. "The return of Louise the Zero... complicates matters."

"Or simplifies things. According to certain research in Roma, there is a time of great prophecy coming up. Void is being reborn into the world. We thought with the death of Louise that it would be delayed, but the Gates of Saint Tyronil caused him to decide to wait." Julio nodded to the king. "It was well that we did, as Louise returned more powerful than ever."

"So prophecy protects Void users?" Joseph asked curiously, then took a sip of his wine as he looked out into the cold afternoon.

"Indeed. The Founder Brimir is stated to have split Void among his four great treasures and houses. Earth to Gallia, Wind to Albion, Water to Tristain and Fire to Romalia. The Censor, Musicbox, Prayerbook and Mirror have to be brought together for Void to be reborn."

"The Musicbox is no longer in Albion. When I inquired of it casually, Queen Henrietta admitted that she had sent it to Tristain, as it reminded her of the prayerbook that she had given to Louise the Void. A person that has unearthed many secrets from that tome. If Louise unlocks its powers, she will have half of this full Void you speak of, priest." Joseph was studying Julio quite closely.

"The Pope would be worried if this is the case. So it behooves you to protect your censor. And summon a new familiar."

"A familiar is for life," the pale-haired prince protested. He would not give up his doll for anything.

"Either the mage's life or the familiar's life. And I have discovered that Sheffield of Gallia was slain by Sheila who was Gandalfr." Julio bowed his sandy-hair before the king. "If you doubt her survival, then attempt to summon a familiar. It can but fail if she is alive."

Joseph pulled out his wand as he thought over the matter. It was obvious the Pope had been keeping an eye on him and wanted to know about his familiar. He needed something that could let him win. Sheffield truly must have failed. And he could not have any more failures. He started to invoke the chant of all five elements, again summoning his familiar.

The appearance of the glowing green disk confirmed what the priest had described... Sheffield was dead. Joseph frowned as nothing stepped through immediately. He could hold it open for a long time, but he may have to recast the first spell he had ever successfully cast.

With a shocking suddenness, a black armored figure stepped through. While it was obviously female, it only showed its face and hands to be the most pale person he had ever seen, with hair the color of blood. Her cold blue eyes studied Joseph for a long moment, then called out something imperiously.

Joseph smiled at her as he chanted the spell of binding the familiar. He then put away his wand casually and stepped up to her. She showed no fear and actually smiled as he moved in to capture her lips.

The new familiar hissed as runes burned upon her left hand. "What trickery of Creation is this?"

"No trickery, merely the realization of our bond as mage and familiar. You... seem powerful. Are you powerful enough to defeat a demigoddess?" Joseph asked.

"A Godblooded? I am an Abyssal of the Mask of Winters. I was designed to kill gods, thaumaturge. What does this rune entail? What power does it grant and what control does it take from me?" she demanded. Her face showed high cheeks and a pouty lip far at odds with the heavy black armor she wore.

"The Gandalfr rune. The Left Hand of God and the power of the matchless warrior of the Founder Brimir and his most powerful familiar," Julio replied slowly as he clenched his right hand tightly.

"Matchless warrior? Interesting," the woman said. "And what do I get out of this? I have... aspirations, mage."

"I am king of the mightiest nation of Halkgenia. And with Gandalfr, I intend to rule everything," Joseph said in wondrous delight. This was so much better than a silly familiar that could control trinkets.

The Abyssal smile slowly. "A king, eh? Well, as long as my appetites are sated, I think I can work with you. You may call me Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair, Dusk Caste of the Abyssal and Captain of the City of Thorns Bone Calvary. I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful partnership."

* * *

It was later that same day, though quite late in the evening when Louise returned to her Liege's presence for a quiet request.

"Louise? Is this a matter that can not wait until tomorrow?" Wales asked in a little frustration. He had been working on improving his wife's mood for the night. Soft candles filled the room and the sweet scent of perfumed oils permuted the air.

"Unfortunately, I must ask an urgent boon of thee both." Louise had bowed deeply again.

"A boon?" the queen asked.

"Actually, it is for me," Sheila replied. "I really have important duties that I have not been dealing with. I need to finish a quest that is almost a year overdue." She bowed her head. "And that will take us from Halkgenia. I dare not leave Louise unprotected for so long, as I'm sure that the master of Sheffield will try again to have her killed."

'And don't you wish you know who that was?' Sheffield said with a snickering laugh.

Sheila ignored responding to the comment by the bound ghost.

"Do you have any idea of how long you will be?" Henrietta asked curiously. "We just got you back."

"Hopefully not long at all," Sheila admitted. "But I can't guarantee the time. If it is overly long, we should be able to come back to let people know."

"Then return quickly. We still have matters to take care of. Louise, I sent the Founder's Musicbox to Tristain's Academy. I remember you writing of it and the girl Tiffania. I figured that she could continue working on deciphering Void so that it does not become lost again."

"That is wise, my lieges. In fact, let me give you the Founder's Prayerbook so that you can deliver it to the gentle souled Tiffania." Louise then bowed. "May I take my leave? I wish to visit my mother before we depart."

"Of course," Henrietta said with a soft smile. "Besides, I think my husband wishes to abscond with me yet this evening."

Soon they were walking down the halls of the palace to the guest quarters. One of the White Lily knights stood at guard.

"Please let my mother know that her daughter, the Duchess of Al'Valliere, wishes a moment of her time," Louise said regally.

The knight bowed at the waist and then knocked on the door. It opened a minute later as a maid escorted them to where the duchess waited for them. The desk beside her was filled with paperwork.

"Daughter," Karin said with a tilt of her head.

That flustered the Void mage. "Mother, we have to leave upon a quest, so we are not able to say. I have letters for the family that I would entrust to you."

* * *

"So how are we planning on getting to your world? This 'Earth'?" Louise asked as they left palace of Londonium late that night. They were winging through the air, both flying under their own power through the dark night.

"Once we reach the coast of Albion. I'm going to be depending on you to use a... call it a mandate of legend." Sheila gave her companion a sincere smile.

It was not long before they reached the mist shrouded edge of the island nation. Rivers and streams poured off the edge into the clouded ocean below, covering the edge in mist. The two armored figures landed upon the ground softly.

"So what is the plan? It must involve my magic, but I have not figured out how to teleport quite yet," the Void mage noted. She had been working on it, as she was able to teleport small objects to and from her.

"There are locations that have become iconic and legendary. So much so that the divine can use them to travel between the original and its replicas. What I want to do is have you create a very large statue." The goddess closed her eyes, sending Louise a startling clear mental image of a copper-clad statue that was holding a torch and book with the ancient Roman date of July 4th, crowned with a tiara. The statue was upon a large base and looked to the east.

"You think I can do this?" Louise was already planning the Void magic in her mind. Reversing the anti-Earth component and growing it like any Earth mage could do.

"I know you can, if you put your mind to it," the goddess replied with a soft smile.

The strawberry-blonde started chanting, taking the time to build up her power as she visualized the statue. The ground rumbled as jagged stone was pulled up and then reshaped by her will. Her wand directed the stone like she was a conductor of an orchestra. Within minutes a massive statue appeared. With a last wave of her wand, Louise transfigured the surface of the statue into copper.

"That is amazing, considering you were working only with a memory." It was closer than she had expected and almost full size, being well over a hundred feet tall. Sheila then closed her eyes as she wandered in a circle around it for a long twenty minutes

Louise followed curiously, wondering if this could really transport them to her companion's world.

"There. The touchstone is there," Sheila said, finally pointing to the crown. "Luckily we can fly."

"Levitate!" the Void mage cried out, causing them to both float. Such a minor magic did not even tire her any more.

In just moments they were both standing on Libertia's head, near the center spike on her crown. Sheila turned to Louise and held out her left hand. "Are you ready?" At her companion's nod, Sheila then poured her legendary essence into the touchstone.

Between one moment and another, they suddenly found themselves on an older statue's crown, in a very tight crowd of men and women.

"And with this spilled blood will the New World be cleansed of the Imperialist forces of the 'West'," a rough man was shouting at a video camera. Around several tied up figures on the crown stood armed men carrying light machine guns and rifles, wearing heavy ballistic vests. The leader turned away from the camera for a second, looking at the two of them in dumbfounded confusion. "Who are you?"

"Hey, Donnie. Did we arrive in just the nick of time?" Sheila asked a familiar, pretty man in the center of the hostages.

Donnie Rhodes, the son of Aphrodite, groaned very theatrically. "They didn't know which one of us was the Scion, Sheila." Damned brat.

"Who is the pretty boy?" Louise asked, trying to mask her infatuation with his far too pretty looks.

"My cousin," she replied casually. She sent off a telepathic message to her companion. _'Put a barrier around the people in the center.'_

Louise chanted a spell very quickly, barely getting up a shell of disbursement before the men pulled the triggers on their guns. The machine guns started to chatter, ricocheting bullets everywhere.

Mike Santos swore as his hostages were suddenly protected. He reached for a detonator control, only to shriek in agony as a bolt of lightning struck from the clear, night's sky to melt it. "Damn you! I have not come so far to be stopped by you godlings of the west! The Americas will be free of your taint! It shall belong to the Azlanti again!"

Sheila leaped straight up and over the column of force that had stopped their attack, pulling out a sword as she hopped, skipped and flipped across the crown as she spun through attacks upon the men with obvious inhuman acuity as she defeated the heavily cyberized men.

"Wahoo! A fight!" Derflinger shouted in Halkgenian.

The leader had survived her attack and had backed up to the edge. "Which of the Dodekatheon spawned you?"

"So that you can swear undying hatred upon me for disrupting your plan to kill millions of people?" Sheila asked archly. "I am Sheila, daughter of Athena Parthenos." She raised her sword up to point at him.

With a maniac smile, Santos threw himself off the top of the statue of liberty. He had only fallen sixty feet before lightning stuck again, sending his flaming form to crash to the ground in front of the police.

"He actually survived that, too," she noted in surprise as she watched him twitch on the ground.

"Eh, Sheila, ixnay eakspay inay ontfray ofay elvisiontay," Donnie called out.

The blonde goddess winced at that, looking at the professional camera and tripod on the edge of the crown. "That's a little late, Donnie. What channel did I just broadcast that live to?"

"Er, CNN. Worldwide. I'm sure it is being watched by millions of people," the debonair scion of Aphrodite explained. Well, there was no such thing as bad publicity he noted to himself brightly.

"Millions?" Louise asked, looking at the camera. "Technology can do that?"

"Where did you dig up such a clueless cutie, Sheila?" Donnie asked curiously, earning him a glare from the mage.

"Alternate reality with more magic than technology. It's been a distracting ten months. I really don't have time to deal with an official inquiry right now. I really need to track down Grumirigl and his band of ice giants and ask them some pointed questions," Sheila said as she checked all of the hostages for any wounds or issues. Just shocked and dazed, really.

"I think Donar actually killed them a month ago in Neiflheim during an ambush." Donnie shrugged helplessly at her frustrated look. "What can I say? They were trying to murder him."

"Hmm. Then I need to start from square one." Sheila's eyes were narrowed in thought. "Come on Louise. We need to go to Chicago."

"Are we going to fly there?" she asked eagerly.

"That... probably wouldn't be terribly wise. We'd probably be picked up on radar as a cruise missile or something. So we'll just run there," she replied as she scooped up Louise. With three fifty foot hops, there were down to the ground and landing behind a police line.

News cameras were just tracking her as she took off at full speed along the top of the river, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Sheila handed back a young man his smart phone. "Thank you very much." She had been looking up a map of the location she was heading to, as the last time she had been driven by Billy Ford to the seer's home. She knew the address and the street, but how to get there had eluded her. So she had stopped to look at a map and the man at the counter had offered her the use of his phone. She frowned as she realized something profound on the location that she had not spotted eighteen months ago. Of course, her perception and mental acuity had increased a lot since then...

"No problem, miss. Do you mind if I get your autograph? Just in case you are that girl from that hostage situation on the Statue of Liberty." The man behind the counter at the 7-Eleven looked quite hopefully at his request.

"Sure," Sheila replied with a grin and a shake of her head. Several of the other patrons of the late night convenience store were taking snapshots and videos with their phones of both girls in their strange, medieval armor.

Behind her, Louise was looking over the display as she tried to puzzle out what she was seeing. "This is candy?" the Tristainian girl asked as she puzzled out the language. "Why does it have a list of arcane components?"

"Just chemicals and ingredients. Some people are allergic to certain things and this keeps them from buying something that makes them sick," Sheila explained as she scribbled her name on a piece of paper.

"On every single piece of food? That's... ludicrous." Too big buildings that were all lit up with mage-lights were one thing, though she had learned there was no magic in them at all. But labeling everything? Where they insane and compulsive?

They were just stepping out when a white Chicago Police Department car pulled into the parking lot. "You two, halt right there!" the light-blue and black wearing officer called out, putting his hand on the pistol on his hip.

"Hello, officer. Is there a problem?" Hmm. She only had Derflinger on her back, but Louise had her six-shooter. Better to nudge them a bit hard, as she sent lent some legendary weight to her words. "We are just passing through and do not mean to cause any problems here."

The old officer frowned, shaking his head. "Sorry about that. You two dressed up for some Renaissance faire?"

"Those look more real than the stuff I see down at the park, Phil," his black, female partner replied dubiously.

"They are part of our military uniform of the Tristain First Army," Louise said stiffly

"That sword is part of a uniform?" Katie White was retired army and knew that no military carried that huge of a sword as part of its uniform. Though that stick with a basket hilt looked like something she had seen.

"I'm perfectly presentable for any military service," Derflinger complained.

"Derf-"

"It's Derflinger!" the sword complained.

"He's a bit fussy," the goddess admitted. "When did you learn English?"

"I'm a legendary sword! Of course, I can learn languages!"

Katie just shook her head and smiled at the antics she misinterpreted as a comedy routine. "Fine. Let's fill out our incident report." The two officers were just sitting down when the younger, female officer saw the taller blonde wink at her as they took off running down the heavily trafficked street... _passing_ the cars handily.

* * *

Louise laughed as they ran down the tollway. "I love this! It's so amazing to be able to run like the wind!" They ran for about five minutes, much slower than Sheila had carried her here to this city, but still passing cars on the road easily. They came to an old house in front of a warehouse at a dead end just outside the city's southern section.

The goddess of Excellence and Battle frowned as she heard the sound of metal on steel. It was a pattern that had been heard on forges for Millenia and confirmed what she had suspected. "Oh. Well that was a wild goose chase. I bet he was laughing at us the entire time he sent us to fight giants."

Her mage blinked, then suddenly started to look around much more seriously. "So this is an enemy?"

"Yes, this is Ixion's workshop," Sheila muttered to herself. "Which means he probably has had the shield the entire time." It was quite likely that they had been spotted, but they could not just run in there. "We need some equalizers."

Their next run led them to another area of town, where an another old warehouse stood looking quite boring. Sheila walked to a side entrance and put her hand upon a portion of the wall, looked at a specific small hole and then started to talk very quickly.

"What are you saying?" the Void mage asked.

"Passcode keyphrase," the goddess explained as the door made a buzz and then opened. Entering into the darkened warehouse, she toggled the lights. on. Looking around to see the cloth-covered equipment, she frowned a bit. "I guess I was gone a long time. At least it isn't cleared out yet. Hello, Anthony. You must have seen me in the news."

"Miss Henderson. Always a few steps ahead of me as always. And who is the young lady with you?" the gray-haired man with a shotgun asked as he stepped out of the shadows behind a large covered machine.

Sheila had the grace to blush. "My companion that I met in another world. She's a powerful mage and high ranking noble. Is everything shut down?"

"Yes, per your orders if you disappeared for over six months. I'm afraid without your insights, most of the projects did not bear much fruit," the manager said. "Your investments are fine, of course. So your accessible wealth is only frozen upon proof of your death."

"Understandable. I was out of communication. I may actually have to see about extending you some executive powers, as I may find it hard to keep up to date on a day to day basis with everything." She gave him a sunny smile as she removed the cloth from several of the lathes. "Would you mind a longer term contract?"

"I'm over fifty, Lady Sheila. Soon I will be drawn to Elysium or Hades," he replied gravely.

"Not for a few centuries, if you don't mind. I need a good administrator here in this mortal world while I'm busy helping Louise. It probably would not be too strenuous."

That seemed to surprise the older man. "I would have to think on it."

"But for now, I need to prepare to be attacked shortly. I'm sure that Ixion will be on his way shortly. If anyone breaks into the building, do not look them in the face. I think he has done something to try and resurrect Medusa. Considering his 'cyber-horsemen' it is probably some unholy abomination of monster and machinery."

* * *

Tiffania scrunched her hat down over her long, blonde hair and ears. She knew she had the queen's protection and was finally getting 'real' training in how to use magic. Her ancient elven ring weighed heavily on her hand. It had unlocked more songs from the Founders Musicbox and she was starting to learn how to tease spells out of the Prayerbook.

"Good morning, Miss Tifania!" Siesta called out. The young maid was in a nebulous place here at the Tristain Academy. While she was still drawing her maid in waiting pay from Louise through the Valliere now that her lady was back from the dead (how very unusual that had been), she really did not have anything to do.

"Oh! Good morning, Siesta. I'm just headed to afternoon study with Tabitha," the half-elf said with a soft smile.

"Will you three need refreshments?" the maid asked.

"That will be quite welcome, I'm sure." Tiffania glided across the grounds to the ladies dormitory and up to a private room that had been cleared for their use. Her two 'classmates' were already present. "Good morning, Tabitha. Good morning, Kirche." The main window was open to allow a breeze into the small office with a table set up. Four chairs were laid out and several cabinets were along the inner wall.

The busty red-head looked up from a stack of papers. "Yo!" She went back to reading the papers. "I know I can learn this."

"I don't really think you have the Void, Miss Zerbest," Tiffania said timidly.

"No! I have to be able to master this magic!" the hot-headed Germanian declared.

"Zero potential," Tabitha said from where she was reading papers intently.

"Um, Miss Tabitha? What exactly are you trying to do? That is the tenth time you are reading up on how to heal with Void." Tiffania almost wilted from the flat look. "Maybe I can help? My music box let's me know."

"Remove a curse and then cure a mind," the pale-haired girl finally said.

"Do you want me to explain, Tabitha?" her best friend asked carefully.

"Please?"

Kirche nodded even as she leaned back. "Tabitha's mother was poisoned with a magical potion that resists water healing. So she needs to figure out a way to remove the curse and then cure it. Void magic is their only hope."

Siesta opened the door and walked in with a tray with cookies and tea.

"That should just be the dispel magic from the Founder's Prayerbook. And then maybe the most potent regeneration spell from the Musicbox. I think I can handle that," Tiffania mused aloud. "Do you think she would be up to travelling here-"

Tabitha raised her staff to point at the window, when something exploded in the sky.

Outside on the main road, Knights of the White Lily were fighting for their lives. "Form ranks! Form ranks!" More signal rockets launched up into the sky as a ship of the line changed course on its patrol.

Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair laughed in a horrid voice that promised untold pain. "Your poor mockeries of fire-rifles will not stop me," the Abyssal called out as she flickered between two knights. Before they could pull out their own swords, she swept through a blisteringly fast eight-lotus sweep, sending their remains spraying through the air to land in chunks.

A canon boomed from the nearest tower wall, sending 3" grape-shot at the black-armored figure. Essence flared as a black shadow of bloody fire errupted around her. The grapeshot sounded like it had hit a granite wall.

"That could have hurt." Her too-pretty, pale features were twisted in anger, as her bloody anima dripped on her forehead in a mockery of the Dawn caste of the Solars. How dare these mortals stay her hand. Then her face turned hideously happy as she cut another soldier into six parts. "I love being a Gandalfr!"

"She's a monster! We need the most powerful mages possible to take her down," the captain called out.

Dances stabbed another musketeer when she saw movement in the sky. She cartwheeled away before a massive gust of wind shredded the ground.

"Pale hair, rides a dragon, a staff and wind magic. There's the girl I'm supposed to kill while getting a stupid music box." Dances' black sword was sheathed over her back as she slipped out a power-bow chased in black metal forged from ghosts.

Tabitha chanted quickly as she raised her staff even as her dragon roared. Her wind barely deflected a crimson bolt of energy from the black bow.

"She can attack from so far away?" Kirche asked as she held on behind her friend on the dragon's neck.

"Hey! Not bad! This could be fun," Dances said to herself with a sadistic smile on her face.

* * *

The first sign of the attack was when the door blew off the hinge of the warehouse shop that Sheila owned. In stepped an eight foot tall giant with one, central eye, a mighty cyclops. Each of his arms had been replaced by bronze and steel robotic arms. "Knock knock. Cyclop here!" it sing-songed as it stepped in.

Behind it came more of Ixions crazed, cybernetic creations... his cyber-centaurs. Once they had been part of the Hell's Angels, but they had been too brutal and had gone their own way. Ision, the forger of men and monster had imbued them into their beloved motorcycles. All had sacrificed their legs to be attatched at the front of their motorcyles.

They were armed with pipes, baseball bats and fire axes. One fellow even had a chainsaw in place of his right arm.

"Tear the place down," the roughest looking centaur yelled out as they rumbled into the darkened room.

That was when thunder cracked and shattered one of the centaur, sending the pieces of him flying off into the his compatriots.

"Bill!" another cyber-centaur shouted.

"What the hell was that?" a third centaur shouted before he was stuck as a boom echoed through the warehouse.

"That, my friends, is call a Mark I railgun," Sheila's voice called out, drifting through the warehouse from the shadows.

At the doorway, a cloaked up figure stepped into the warehouse. "A sniper attack. How cowardly," a female voice called out sibulantly. She pulled back her hood, revealing a horrid face covered in scales and crowned in a head of snakes for hair.

"Medusa! Are you trying to kill us?" one of the cyber-centaurs shouted, even as they all turned away from the doorway in terror.

The railgun cracked thunder again, but missed as the reborn monster swayed out of the way. A theatrical cry of anguish echoed from the crates.

Medusa smiled as she covered her head as she walked further into the warehouse. The centaur followed her carefully. "So Ixion's will is done. Another of Zeus's get brought low as a prize for Gaia. I hear she adores these statues to add to her collection."

The headlights of the centaur shown on an armored figure frozen in the act of trying to cover her eyes on top of a crate. The rough and crude cyber-centaur started laughing uproarously, even as Medusa smiled grimly.

"This was too easy, you fools," a sturdy man said as he stepped into the light. Ixion, son of Ares and Crafter of the Damned studied the statue. "That's an illusion. Sheila knew we were coming." His dark eyes stared from his dark and inhumanly handsome face.

"Because, as much as it will pain you Ixion, you aren't the important target," Sheila's voice called out over the personel address system. "I was after the Aegis." The goddess lifted the shield from a safe within Ixion's own workshop.

"But I've already gotten what I wanted from it, the genetic information to clone a replacement body for one of the most implacable enemies of your mother, Scion of Athena. And with her, I've crafted the first step in the downfall of the Dodekatheon. As soon as she has killed the mortal daughter of Athena, in other words, you, Sheila, she will ascend to a power that can affect even one of the gods. And Vengeance is mine!" Ixion laughed loudly.

"There's a few problems with that, Ixion," Sheila's voice carried out over the PA system. "I'm not mortal, I ascended in only four years. Aren't you still a demigod after four thousand years and being given granted power by the Greater Titans?"

"You lie," Ixion declared loudly, suddenly a little worried. "And what is your second point?"

"Our cousin Dana, Goddess of the Furies and Vengeance. I told her where you were and she was very interested. Isn't family grand? I think she ever brought the three Furies with her," the voice declared.

"The Furies? You would dare unleash them upon us?" Ixion demanded of the air as he started to look around.

That was when a shadow right behind the clone of Medusa swung out a silvery sickle in a sweep that nearly removed the Gorgon's head in one blow, dispersing the power that had hidden her. "Why hello, Ixion. I've been looking for you for a while. After all, Zeus has promised me that only I will hold sway over the Furies if I deliver your head to him." She was wearing a black mask over her face, but the two snakes at the base of her skull that hissed at them all declared she was a Fury, if only recently joining the ancient trio of sisters as their patron among the gods. The shadows around her carried the weight of the hidden moon.

From the shadows around Ixion, Demigod of Deciet and Craft and his Horsemen out stepped three more woman. The snakes that grew from their necks hissed on each side of their heads as they readied their swords and daggers.

Louise closed the door quietly as the screaming started. Her illusion had been key to setting up the trap that Sheila had set up. She pulled out her wand and levitated into the air and flew quickly through the air as the sun started to rise to the east across the lake. She waved to the odd contraption that was following her as she homed in towards where Sheila was extracting herself from Ixion's forge.

"This is WMAQ-TV's Channel 5 News. Rob, do you see what I'm recording here?" the cameramen called out through his headset to the main channel.

"If you a recording a flying girl wearing armor, then yes I am. Is this some sort of stunt?" Rob Eaglin frowned as the helicopter continued to follow the flying girl. "Say, isn't that the girl from the Statue of Liberty last night?"

"That what I was thought," the cameraman replied.

"George, there's another girl," the pilot called out. He pointed out the speck that was approaching rapidly. "Hey, she has a shield with the Medusa's head on it."

Sheila looked over at the helicopter that was following the strawberry blonde as she matched speeds with her. "You have some fans. Are you ready to leave?"

"Where are we headed?" Louise asked curiously.

"My mother's home. So a stop to the 'Athens of the South' in Nashville and the only non-destroyed Parthenon in the world." She slipped her arm around Louise and then they rocketed off to the south.

* * *

"This building is very different from the others," Louise noted as she took in the front of the building with its eight pillars of white stone among the bright lights in the dark of the morning. There appeared to be an inner building beyond a second row of pillars.

"This is a replica of my mother's temple and was designed thousands of years ago. It was quite a feat of engineering for a people that used no magic and did not have the modern machines that could help it. You can get into a philosophical discussion about it. Is it just a cheap knock off because it was so true to its past? Or should they have attempted to duplicate the effort, even if the building would only look similar? Is looks more important or was it the thought and effort that went into it?"

"I don't really understand, but I assume you mean that just perfectly copying the looks did not really copy the spirit of the building?" the strawberry-blonde said.

"Or the effort required to build the edifice. That was probably more true to being the offering to her as a goddess." Sheila frowned quite cutely as she studied the door, like it was a massive and impassible barrier. "Even so, for non-worshippers to recreate the building was a fairly large sacrifice. While not true worship, I think she is still fond of Nashville. Louise, may I borrow your finest hair-pin?"

The shorter girl looked confused, but nodded as she removed the pin. "We should really do something with your own hair."

The goddess took the pin from here and in movement that seemed far, far too easy, picked the deadbolt lock. "Godly power and all I can think to do is pick the lock," she muttered to herself. Well, she could have also just broken it. "Well, we need to be fairly fast. We might have already set off an alarm." With that, she pushed open the door into the main atrium where the statue of Athena dominated the center.

"She's not really that big, is she?" Louise asked as they trotted over.

The goddess had her eyes open. "No, not normally. Of course, we don't even have physical bodies unless we want them. I can even mold the human form fairly easily with my powers of healing."

"Oh really?" the shorter girl asked as thoughts danced in her head. "I'm going to have to have you go in to some depth about that."

Sheila blinked as she turned to look at the smaller girl. "Oh. Yes, I could see why that would be interesting to you. Well, it's your back, I suppose." She waved her hand at a spot right in front of the statue of Athena. "This is it. Put your hand here."

They both put their hands on the focal point and disappeared thirty seconds before the security guard could make it from his office in the back of the building.

* * *

For a long moment, Louise thought they had not moved until she realized that somehow she had either shrunk or the statue and building in front of her had gotten half again larger. The statue of Athena looked like it could step off the pedestal, it looked so real.

"I think we made it," Sheila said, looking around. "At least I think this is the most true Parthenon which I believe is on Mount Olympus."

That was when four soldiers with hints of non-human insect features in roman armor walked up. "Declare yourselves!" the one wearing the higher-ranked braiding of a captain.

"Myrmidons!" Sheila called out in delight. "I am Sheila, daughter of Pallas Athena."

The warriors looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "And this one?" he gruffly asked.

"Is my Companion. Where may I seek my mother?" she demanded, still with a smile upon her face.

"She is fighting on the plains before Olympus against the hordes of Gaia. Until she defeats those forces though, she is not allowed to return to Olympus by Zeus's orders."

"That could be a problem," the youngest goddess said to herself. "Well, it's time to head into battle, Louise. Make sure you are ready for a battle between gods and titans."

Louise just nodded uncertainly.

* * *

Sylphid whined in pain as she lay crumpled on the ground. At her side stood Kirche, a whip of flame as she lashed out woman in black armor.

Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair frowned as her sword snapped out to block the flames, heating up the sword. "You people are really annoying. Where is the Zero and her familiar? They are the ones I truly want to test my metal against."

Kirche turned to let Tabitha release her wind. The pale mixed it up, adding ur-fire into the mix to send a freezing wind that still missed the armored figure.

The Abyssal snarled as the cold chilled her to the bone, even with the 'miss' as she ducked. Frost covered her armor, a fake white that hide dark secrets in the Soul Steel. She was going to have to take drastic action to defeat these two.

Kirche was just rotating into position when Dances rushed forward. Flames, hotter than any forge, streaked out at the pale, armored abomination. The Germanian was surprised when the alien figure charged her straight on, seemingly welcoming her immolation on the fires of her passion.

"Got you, you top-heavy bitch!" the Abyssal shouted out as the stink of her over-heated sword quenched itself on her foes heart.

Tabitha turned back to see horror, as her nearest and dearest friend slid of the black-armored figure's sword. "Kirche?"

"I didn't expect her- to do- that-" Kirche said as she collapsed, her wand falling from her nerveless fingers.

The roar from an enraged Salamander was thunderous as the fire lizard sent out a blast of flame as hot as any that Kirche herself could have created.

"Stupid lizard! She's dead already," Dances snapped out as she dodged with supernatural speed, the Gandalfyr rune moving her faster than she would have thought possible as she seemed almost a flickering shadow in the flames on the field.

Tabitha knelt down next to her stricken friend, turning over Kirche's slack body with her free hand. Sightless, open eyes stared at her. With her bloodstained left hand, she closed the Germanian's eyes. The she stood up, gripping her crooked staff with both hands as she started chanting a spell of her own creation, pouring Ur-Fire into her next spell from the small ability of Void within her.

Only a hundred feet away on the blasted battlefield, Tiffania and Siesta were hiding behind a charred bush.

"Oh, Miss Von Zerbst!" Siesta sobbed out as she ducked behind the bush. "What are we going to do?"

A massive vortex of snow and wind was forming overhead as Tabitha spent her willpower like cheap copper coins.

"I can't fight her. She's a monster," Tiffania whimpered. "I'm not a spellcasting mage of legend." The half-elf was nearly beside herself in terror.

The maid was throwing her thoughts around in her mind. Why could not her mage and her... familiar! That was it. "You can summon your own familiar! Like Louise the Zero's Gandalfyr to help fight for you," the dark-haired, quarter-Japanese girl said excitedly.

"What? Wait, that might work..." Tiffania pulled out her wand as wind swirled around her. "Pentacle of the five elements-" she started to intone.

Flame screamed out a roar as soul steel cut deeply into his neck, then spun around to stab into his chest.

From the sky, massive ice crystals suddenly shot down, forcing the black-armored figure to take cover behind a few trees that exploded from the incredibly cold missiles.

Tabitha's breath was rasping as she collapsed to her knees, using her staff as a mere crutch as Dances walked out of the conflagration. "No-"

"Out of Essence, mageling? That's going to cost you and your mother," the Abyssal sneered.

That was when she heard a voice call out, "Stay away from my student!" Colbert the Fire Snake had a very strange contraption in front of him on a bipod. He reached around to grab the hand-carved grips and pulled the trigger. The 7.7mm machine guns, scavenged from the Zero fighter and returned here to Tristain Academy after not being used in the battles of Albion, roared their anger for the first time.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Dances shouted out. She had thought the primitive slug throwers that locals used were useless, but this was on a whole different level, as the machinegun tracked her across the field as she sprinted as fast as possible. If it were one big cannon, she might have tried to weather the attack, but this would kill her even with her impregnable defense.

Off to the side, a glowing magical circle had appeared in front of the half-elven void mage, who's hat blew off in the summoning. Out of the glowing green portal stepped a slight figure, a sixteen year old boy in a school uniform who looked quite confused.

"Nani ga okotte iru nodesu ka?" he asked in confusions.

Tiffania gripped her wand tightly, the walked up and then sealed her summoning and bound her familiar with a kiss. The dark-haired teen cried out in pain as runes carved themselves into his forehead. "Nani?"

"She's making a run to attack Tabitha!" the smudged and tattered maid called out, pointing at the black armored figure.

"Oh, please stop her! Someone please stop her!" Tiffania called out.

A howling wind with the power of a hurricane answered her please, as a mage appeared on the back of an old, battered looking manticore. "Stand down or be destroyed," Karin of the Heavy Wind called out.

"Mask Blight the Sun!" Dances shouted out. "How many of you do I have to kill?" She dodged behind another tree as Colbert opened fire with the machinegun again. "And damn your artifacts!" That was when a blast of wind roared past her from Karin as she streaked by overhead.

The young, Japanese boy looked around in fear as he was dragged along over to a whimpering dragon, the pale-haired mage and a beautiful, but quite dead, red-head girl.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Siesta asked the half-elf in a panic.

"This I can fix, if you give me time. Please, Mr. Familiar, can you protect me?" Tiffania asked her familiar who was rubbing the runes on his forehead.

He looked confused and worried, shrugging helplessly. That was when Siesta screamed wordlessly, pointing across the tattered field to where their enemy had reappeared with her black, soul steel bow drawn.

A streak of red energy shot towards them and the teen boy reacted instantly, holding up his hand as the essence arrow exploded in pyrotechnic fury on something invisible right in front of Tabitha. A second bolt was loosed into the air, clipping Karin who merely bit her lip against the pain.

No longer quite so confused, the newly summoned boy frowned even as loose boulders and a shattered tree floated into the air and then started to shoot off towards the armored warrior.

"You have got to be kidding me? Abyss, what have I done to deserve these impediments to your glorious oblivion?" Dances said even as she ducked behind another tree that was then ripped up by cutting blades of wind from the manticore rider in the air. A bullet bit into her flesh from Colbert's machinegun attack from a different angle.

Off in the distance, The Eagle turned its cannons towards the enemy. Captain Derek Von Klyde gave a last look with his spyglass. "Lower the cannons ten degrees, wind is calm! Fire at will!"

The Eagle's mighty cannons bellowed as one, sending shrieking shells at the figure that streaked off with the inhuman speed and power of the Gandalfyr.

Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair frowned at her enemies as her armor let the shrapnel from the missed explosions deflect harmlessly. She finally had to admit to herself that she was no longer making headway and was not going to succeed this day. Without support of her undead lieutenants, she could not fight as impudently as she was normally wont to do. She gave a hate filled glare to the pale-haired girl off in the distance, the took off deeper into the trees at a full sprint, the Gandalfyr runes still giving her inhuman speed.

Tiffania was chanting the older, longer chant she had learned as a child from the Founder's Music Box, a blinding radiance covering the fallen red-head. On her left hand, a ruby glowed with solemn power as she was pulled back to the land of the living.

"Ow. That hurt," Kirche complained as her eyes blinked open. "What happened?" She still felt very weak.

"Died," Tabitha said, somehow fitting very intense emotions in the single word. Tears streamed down her cheeks and tear drops lay on her glasses, suddenly throwing herself to hug her most dear friend.

"I- died? Well, I'm obviously better. Did we win?" the Germanian asked with most of her vigor and zest for life.

"If by win you mean that we drove of the single enemy, then yes," Karin the Heavy Wind called out as she slid down the side of her manticore. Her right arm had a leather strap tied around a massive wound, the rest hanging limply. "Tiffania, are you able to cure this with your void?"

"I- I don't think I will after casting so many spells. My willpower is depleted," the half-elf said with anguish.

"I will have it attended to by a water mage at the Academy then. Who is this fellow?" the older woman asked, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Hiraga Saito," the teen asked as if prompted, bowing at the waist. He then asked a few questions in his language in a rapid fire manner.

"He sort of sounds like my grandfather did when he spoke in his native language," Siesta noted in confusion.

"Not Halkeginian?" Tabitha asked as she loosened her grasp on Kirche.

* * *

The skies above Olympus were the last bastion of the Dodekathon's defense, as the ground teamed with Gaia's army. The lines of the army seemed endless, but were merely gargantuan in numbers. At a fast numerical guess based on numbers within square areas by Sheila, the armies of the gods numbered forty million. They were mostly human heroes that led legions of myrmidons, armed with modern and ancient weapons.

So they were merely outnumbered three to one as they ground their way back to the roots of Olympus itself. Their foes were more classic; giants, ogres and the uncountable spawn of Gaia of at least the living sort of monsters.

The sight of two human-sized figures floating overhead did not appear that they could affect such a large battle, but size did not equate to power.

"I don't think I have nearly enough willpower to blow up that many. And I'm not sure how well an illusion could work against them," Louise admitted as she floated with her dueling wand in her hand. Her light armor glistened under the Sun in the sky, seemingly blessed by Apollo.

"So we shall just have to work smarter, not harder. Mother appears to be very beset by her foes. Even with Hercules and Diana helping her, she is getting slowly pushed back. Luckily, the enemy has given us the information about what they feared in this battle," her goddess with long blonde hair said. "Can you make an illusion of heat, air and water to magnify my appearance so that all the enemy can see me at once?"

"Of course. Of course, that makes perfect sense!" Louise immediately started chanting in Neo Void, casting a huge spell. "Illusion!"

The young goddess appeared, over a mile tall even even towering over the Giganti. Sheila wrapped her legend about her to bolster the will and the valor of the army of the gods.

"Be strong, for aid comes to you this day! Stare into the eyes of your enemy, strengthen your back and roar defiance! For this day, the gods win this battle!" the youngest Dodekathon shouted out.

The heroes and myrmidon shouted as they heard these words, feeling their gods infuse their very essence into their lagging will. They were the most disciplined army, having been trained and forged in battle by Pallas Athena herself. "For the gods!" they shouted as one.

The monsters roared right back. The titans had promised that they would slay a goddess this day and they smelled blood and desperation across the blood-choked battlefield.

Sheila, Goddess of Excellence and Battle, unveiled the leather covered shield and pushed legend to cause the face of Medusa to seemingly open her accursed eyes... to petrifying effect! All those monsters that could not equal the weakest of gods in power were suddenly warped by the ancient talisman into stone statues.

"Hercules! Use that unmatched strength and cause an earthquake!" the golden-armored Athena shouted to her step-brother. "All legions, focus on the survivors! Drive them back. For Olympus! For life itself!"

The lion-skin wearing hero of antiquity just laughed uproariously. "I knew that you had a sly trick left in your cloak, sister!" The weight of unmatched legend and the power to carry the heavens themselves upon his back gathered in his body as he slammed his fists down with the ultimate expression of strength.

Gaia frowned from with the ground itself as she fought to keep the Earth still, but even her might could not forestall Hercules in this instance. Fists that had more power than nuclear bombs smashed the ground with the force to throw mountains and shatter plains knocked most people prone while the petrified statues were flung into the air to come crashing down with rock-shattering force.

"No!" the ancient mother to the gods shouted. She could have animated them with her power, turning them into even greater pawns for her ware, but only if they were still in one piece.

The heroes and myrmidons groaned and crawled to their feet to see a wondrous sight in front of them. Where before they had been outnumbered by uncounted monsters, now they faced a foe that was decimated and only have a bare five percent of their numbers left. Only six million of Gaia's army remained, a pittance to stand before Athena's army.

Gaia could easily see that too, moving to order her army to retreat instantly.

"There!" the voice of Diana, goddess of the hunt, called out. "There is Gaia, giving orders to Gelmatheon the Powerful." Her matchless eyes had spotted her between the moments as an impression within the earth that spoke to the Anteon giant of godly power. Her arrows of moonlight thudded into Gaia to no seeming affect.

Athena reacted instantly, somehow moving between the two spaces instantly and reaching for the greatest and last of her powers she had not dared squander in her dire straights. The abstract power and full potential of the _The General _appeared, the cosmic focus of all War itself that struck with absolute precision to disrupt the enemies' tactic and overturn their strategy with the majesty of infinite power visible within the glowing, giant form.

Even Gaia had to bow temporarily to its ultimate expression in the cosmic scheme within all creation, retreating rapidly from the field of her defeat this day.

Gelmatheon raised his sword as he prepared to give out the order he received, wincing under glare of Athena in her aspect as the Avatar of War. So he was surprised when a twenty-foot tall figure of bronze and steel landed on his head from almost a mile up.

"Anteon giant, right?" Sheila asked within the power of her collussus armor, picking up the slightly smaller figure. "Lift them from Gaia's power and then crush them, right uncle?" She had the giant lifter to her armored shoulders and started to twist the giant with a wrestling move that Hercules would approve of, not to mention would have been the envy of any professional wrestler of the WWF.

"Aye. One of your adopted brood, Athena?" the god once known as the strongest mortal alive asked his sister, a wide grin upon his berserker face, easily visible through his beard.

"You are late, daughter," Athena the Avatar of War declared imperiously to her daughter. "I expected you to show up months ago with my shield."

"I fell into one of Ixion's traps and was only rescued by happenstance. In fact, I think I became ensnared by a spell, but I'm free of that," the huge, armored figure that looked like a golem of the newest goddess admitted.

A many-headed hydra near her was engulfed in a blinding explosion that blew off three of its heads as Louise the Zero floated overhead. "I have your back, Sheila." She suddenly dodged and jinked in the air as a few of the remaining giants through small, five tone boulders at her.

"Who is that?" Athena asked as she reverted to merely her normal godly stature and form.

"Um, my sworn companion and the one that rescued me from a very untimely death by frost giants," Sheila said as she dropped the dead body of the general of Gaia on the ground. "Mother, this is Chevalier Grand Dame Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere al'Valliere. Louise, this is Pallas Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War of the Dodekathon... and a great many more titles in many lands."

"It appears I will have to have you learn... and recite... those titles at some point. But welcome and well met, companion of my youngest daughter," the gray-eyed goddess said with a bare tilt of her head in acknowledgement to the more-than-mortal teen in front of her.

"I guess that does answer the question of how your mother is your mother and a virgin goddess. Adoption? Does that mean she has another, godly parent?" the young void mage asked curiously as she floated over to Athena.

"Yes, but by Fate and Destiny itself, she is my daughter thanks to the magic of my brother Hermes," Athena declared, sending out a sizzling bolt of lightning that exploded another Anteon giant who had been lagging behind his brethren. "This can not be changed by any being, so she will be my daughter forever more."

"I do believe we have won, dear sister," Hercules boasted as he grabbed the shattered, stone torso of a giant and then threw it through the torso of a giant over ten miles away.

"Good, then it is Ares' turn to defend the realm while we recover. Come, father will want to hear of this directly from us," Athena said as she whistled briskly, summoning a small herd of pegasus for them to ride.


	9. Recovery, Planning and New Fronts

**Recovery and Planning**

King Joseph of Gallia was nearly frothing in seeming anger. "I thought you said you could kill gods?" He was sitting on his throne, his eyes quite maniacal and glittering in the torchlight. His hands were gripping the arm rests hard enough that you could see the knuckles were actually white. Was this emotion he was finally feeling? Yet it still seemed so hollow.

"I was not prepared for some of the weapons they were using. That chattering thing that threw hundreds of bullets at me was something worthy of the First Age. And was _nothing_ like stupid guns you had your soldiers show me." The figure of Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair was only slightly cleaned up from her battle and wearing several bandages.

"Tristain is breaking the ban on advanced machine guns?" Joseph asked in surprise.

"What? You have these machine guns also? Why didn't you tell me?" the too-beautiful red-headed Abyssal asked angrily.

"There are secret treaties banning their use for a reason," the king of Gallia noted idly, seemingly totally recovered from his earlier outburst. "We don't want to give the peasants any ideas that they could even conceivably fight a noble, after all."

"An interesting idea. Silly, but interesting. Well, if Tristain has these weapons, you had better start getting yours out of storage-" Dances started to say.

"We have limited stockpiles... with the ability to make more, eventually." Joseph leaned forward as if to think. "Are you wounds hurting you?"

"Yes. I'll recover, eventually. Of greater worry is my essence. I am almost totally spent. How many slaves can you bear to lose? I shall have to feed off of them to gain proper unliving essence," the Dusk Caste Abyssal explained.

"Gallia has no slaves-" Here Joseph smiled. "-but I do happen to have a few over-crowded prisons."

"That will work. Are any of your mages capable of repairing these wounds I took from those Tristain nobles?" While Dances had been able to escape, that had only been because of the supernatural strength of the Gandalfyr rune. She was a mass of burns and cuts. She was in danger of becoming one of the twisted abominations, more ugly than life or death. "I _must_ have these wounds fixed as best as possible. Without scarring if at all feasible."

"I've already had my most powerful healer help you. Unfortunately, the holy water of the Spirit of Ragdorian Lake... still is not granting the boon of her water that can heal all wounds. And the stores within Gallia have been robbed of the precious mystical waters." Several of his noble had been complaining about that for a while. A large dose of the spirits water could stave off the looks of aging for a bit, a hidden secret. And keep you alive years longer than even mages could live by healing the heart, liver and other organs of an old mage.

"Then I will have to convince it otherwise. Perhaps I will kill the impudent spirit when I am done," the Abyssal said with a shrug. "I shouldn't need more than half a dozen prisoners to recoup my essence." She extended her fangs for just a moment, almost salivating at the thought of the glorious feast awaiting her.

Joseph just started laughing. "Lovely! You are such a wonderful familiar! I look forward to your future successes."

* * *

The mousy-haired girl in her maid's uniform fluffed the pillow for the visiting Germanian noble.

"Seraphine! Baron Du'Gol has ordered that we find his wand again," Alice called out from the doorway.

"Again, Alice?" she asked of the blonde-haired girl who was a few years older. "I never see him use it, so maybe he's one of those fake nobles that bought his title? A true noble never loses their wand." It was engraved into them as a near instinct, from what she had seen from most nobles.

The two girls started to scour the room for the next hour. Seraphine finally found it. Somehow it had fallen into a vase of flowers.

"It's a little wet. Should we dry it off-" Seraphine was asking as she flicked the wand to remove a few droplets when... something _exploded._

Two mage knights dashed down the hall, dueling wands out as the left one opened the door with a flick of his wand. "What is going on?" Randulf asked as he took in the destroyed room.

"Seraphine cast a spell! She blew up the bed," Alice declared in shock.

"What? Certainly you are joking," Francine, the other mage knight, asked as he pointed the wand at the soot-covered girl.

She dropped her wand immediately. "I didn't mean to do anything," Seraphine babbled out quickly. "It just kind of jumped in my hand. There must have been a spell within it that had not been released."

Francine and Randulf shared a look. "Easy enough to test," the older mage knight declared. He took out his utility wand and handed it to her. "Point your wand at the bed and say the magic words; Pur, Tor and Uva."

"Pur, Tor... Uva!" Seraphine said in a small, worried tone as she pointed at a pillow.

_Boom_.

Feathers covered the room as the mage knight shared a look. Francine spoke up this time, using his plumed hat to send feathers scattering. "Who are you parents, child?"

"My mother is Charlene, sir," Seraphine replied instantly with a curtsy. "She works as the head maid on the third floor."

"And your father?"

"None would claim me." The cute girl bit her lip. "Though I have seen one noble give my mother gifts of coin. I don't know his name, though I believe he is of high nobility. He has blond hair, a goatee and a monocle."

"Duke Valliere? Child, that is a serious allegation!" Francine continued, even as Alice's eyes had opened wider and wider at the discovery.

"I didn't say he was... just that maybe he might," the young girl admitted.

"Sir Francine... her spells explode. Like the _Zero's_." Randulf's eyes were glittering in thought.

Francine stroked his gray-streaked beard to its normal point. "Send a message to the Queen immediately. And request that Duke Valliere come to the palace. I will speak with Charlene myself." He turned to both girls. "Neither of you will speak of this. Milady, it appears that you have just elevated yourself to nobility. Praise be Brimir."

* * *

On the storm swept sky-shores of Albion stood a new wonder, facing towards the east into the rising sun. The massive Statue of Liberty, a pale reflection of the Colossus kept its new vigil in silence. Only a few dozen people even knew it existed. The elders of the nearest village had been arguing over how such a thing could suddenly sprout into existence. At this point, they had only sent a letter to the lord of the land, a baron. They had not yet heard that he had died months ago on the fields of Londonium.

So there was only a simple sheepherder that was in the wild fields with his flock when two young women appeared on the crown of the Albion Liberty.

Sheila moved to catch the strawberry-blonde void mage. "Are you all right?"

Louise held her hand to her chest, right above her heart. "I felt a strange tug at my soul that hurt." In fact, it still hurt though it was slowly lessening.

"It's no physical malady, of that I can be sure. Which must mean its mystical." The young goddess frowned at that as she tried to consider matters. "It may have to do with your Void, but without further information... I could not say."

"I suppose it could be my magic fighting myself, though I do not understand why it would be different this time," the shorter mage replied. She held out her hands. "Will you carry me?"

"Shall we head to the palace of Tristain so that we may report to your queen?" Sheila did think that Henrietta would want to know that Louise is back. She swept up her mage into a very careful hold and lifted off the ground, the winds at her beck and call.

"Yes. You read my mind exactly."

The pair flew through the air at a sedate pace, only a few hundred miles per hour. It was only about six hours later that they landed in the main courtyard where a proud ship was flying over head.

A mage knight trotted down from the walls with quick haste. "Your highness," he said, bowing deeply. "You heard about your sister?"

"Oh, no. Cattelya?" Louise took off at a trot towards the main doors of the inner palace.

The knight actually winced at that, even as he and Sheila took off after the void mage. "Ah, no. Your other sister," the knight said, hoping that he had not just opened a large can of worms.

"Eleanor? Did she finally go to far in fending off the advances of her suitors? She is far too strict." Louise looked over her shoulder at the knight as he did not answer. "Well, answer me!"

"I do beg your pardon, Princess Louise, but I meant your other sister," he replied finally as he waved for the doors to be opened.

"Other- sister?" the heir to the throne asked. "I do not have any other sister."

Sheila sighed at that. "That you know of, my mage." She was following along in bemusement as she started to piece thing together.

The strawberry-blonde immediately understood what she was insinuating. "Oh, father. Mother will murder you for that. Or at least make you beg for that sweet release."

"It may be as you say, your highness," the mage knight said blandly.

Two knight up ahead of them came to attention and slammed their staves down upon the ground and then opened the door to the throne room.

Wales and Henrietta looked up from where they sat on the throne as Louise and Sheila glided across the ground in an effortless way that was faster than it appeared.

"Your majesties," Louise said as she bowed at her waist.

"Princess, your timing is... impeccable," her childhood friend noted in a dry tone.

The Valliere family of nobles was arrayed in a line before the queen. The duke himself stood all the way over to the right, looking tense at the scene. Next to him stood his wife, who's arm was in a sling. Her face was calm, collected and hinted at a furious storm behind her blue eyes. Eleanor was trying to emulate her mother, while the next younger daughter was fidgeting fitfully. Next was a younger girl that looked remarkably like Louise, except with shorter dirty-blonde hair. Her fine dress did not seem to fit well. In fact, Louise remembered having outgrown that gown a year ago. Last and not fitting in at all was a brown haired young woman of rare appearance in a maid's uniform.

"The winds of fate must have blown me here, your majesty," the adventurer stated with aplomb. Louise and Sheila both looked quite militant in their armor.

"Louise, welcome your younger sister to the family," the duke said simply. "She is the product of my ill-advised weakness fourteen years ago."

Karin looked like she wished to speak, but a glare from Henrietta quelled that.

"How did this come to light now and not earlier?" Louise asked carefully, impressed that her father seemed totally unhurt.

"Seraphine did not appear to possess any magical talent until recently, so I thought to spare her the ridicule of being of noble blood with no noble talent by not even letting her know I existed. Her new propensity to explode things quite reminds me of yourself," he stated with just a tinge of humor.

"Void?" Sheila asked, narrowing her eyes as she studied the girl.

The youngest girl looked very intimidated by the tall girl in the heaviest armor _she_ had ever seen. "Maybe?"

The maid curtsied carefully. "All young children play with wands. It's how young mages are found so they can be schooled. It was only happenstance that Seraphine happened to wave a wand earlier this morning-"

"Mother, what happened to your arm?" Louise suddenly asked.

"The Academy was attacked by what we believe is a Gandalfyr. She killed a dozen men and withstood several triangle mages, myself and a bombardment by _The Eagle_ with those new cannons of your familiar created," Karin the Heavy wind explained. "Unfortunately, it appears my days of combat are now forever beyond me. There are no tears of the water spirit left in Tristain to be purchase for any price."

"Ah, let's correct that then," Sheila said simply. With a simple application of will, she regenerated the crippling wound with a glance. "That should do it. I think my mage would be quite vexed if I did not fix such a wound on her mother."

Karin was already removing the sling her arm had been, a hard smile upon her face. "Yes, much better."

"Ah, then we will be able to go through with our duel then," Louise's father said with a nod of his head. "Eleanor, if you will accompany us? By you leave, your majesty?"

"Can I not convince either of your of the foolishness of your determination?" the young queen asked as she suddenly paled. When neither noble answered or looked away, she nodded as she clenched her hand atop her love's hand. Wales put his hand upon her. "Then we will recess to see this sadness through." With that, she stood with her hand still clenched on her king's.

The closely trimmed grass in the side court, for privacy, gave the location a much more gentle appearance than its history would suggest. For centuries, the duels within the palace had been performed.

Wales struggled a bit with his staff, manfully attempting to appear fully recovered for any witness.

"Eleanor, in front of these witnesses, let it be known that you are my heir to the lands and title of Valliere. I am sure you will do your mother and I quite proud in your duties," the duke declared, then turned to his wife. "For the wrong I have visited upon my family and my wife, I stand upon this field of honor."

Karin's voice was rock solid. "On this field of honor do we meet, to clear this taint upon the Valliere name."

Louise's expression was the most eloquent of the sisters to her friend and companion, a pleading wish for her companion to do something.

The goddess slipped chameleon-like into the mindset of a high noble of Tristain even as her wit and mind bent itself _hard_ for a solution. The first action she did as two duelists raised their wands was to bolster the life-force of the duke. And not a moment too soon, as Karin's massive blast of wind screamed out to blast the duke with lethal force. He had not even tried to cast a spell, nor defend himself. A spray of blood followed his spinning body.

Seraphine screamed in panic. "Father!"

"Silence, sister," Eleanor said in her strongest voice, only slightly catching at the crumpled form of her father.

The youngest daughter of the duke dashed over to the crumpled form, sobbing.

Karin rounded on Sheila, her wand levels at the teen in her heavy armor. "Why should I not attack you for interfering with my honor duel?"

"Because killing your husband is too much for his moment of weakness, Karin. He did not hide behind false words nor flaunt his infidelity. Unless I miss my understand of the duke, I do not think he _meant_ to hurt you or your daughters. Does honor really require that you kill your husband, the father of your three daughters and a young girl that only learned of her father?" Sheila stared her back without giving up an iota of resistance. "I healed your arm for your daughter's sake, not so you could kill someone you love."

"It is not your concern. You intrude where you are not welcome. What do you know of this situation?" the female mage of stature said in a harsh tone.

"Perhaps a bit more than you think, Karin of the Heavy Wind. My grandfather Zeus's predilections drives Hera to distraction and beyond. But I have the gift of many aunts, uncles and my _mother_ because of his actions. My world would be a very poor place without Athena the Wise. That does not mean my step-grandmother likes his illegitimate children. In fact, she has sometimes tried kill them when they did not bear proper observance of her position as matriarch of the family and she has always felt the mothers were fair game. But she never seriously tried to kill her husband." Sheila carefully omitted the fact that Hera was not above hexing him and making him rue his actions for decades at a minimum. Or the brutal conflicts that had happened between her Uncle Hercules and Hera.

"She did not follow the Rule of Steel," Karin snarled in anger, her perfect facade as the cool, collected soldier cracking slightly. "How dare you-"

That got Sheila to interrupt the mother heatedly, clenching her fists. "I dare... because Steel is not totally inflexible. It will bend before it breaks and because of that flexibility is actually prized and valued."

Louise stepped up between them. "No one is perfect, mother. Not even yourself. Punish father-"

"Please, I'll do anything," the young girl Seraphine said between sobs. "Just don't kill father."

"Anything child? Are you sure you are willing to give that word?" Karin studied the young girl as she nodded mutely, tears dribbling down her face. "Very well. You will be trained by me as my fourth daughter. Your mother will move to Castle Valliere." Her wand suddenly snapped out, sending a blast of wind that seemed aimed at her youngest, natural daughter, which Sheila interposed herself between instantly, sending another spray of blood across the field again. "Never interfere with my honor or my battles, Sheila, or I will be an implacable enemy."

"As you say," the wounded goddess replied as blood dripped down her face.

* * *

Siesta stood by the main door to the Academy of Magic of Tristain, looking across the main field as she awaited her princess. Just imagine that, she was actually the head maid of a _princess_. This was so far above where she had started as the daughter of peasants, she could almost not believe it.

So she could be forgiven for being startled as two figures alighted next to her out of the blue sky.

"Siesta! How are you doing, my maid?" Louise asked happily, delighted to see the young girl.

"Princess Louise! Please forgive me for not noticing you! I heard from the radio operator that you were on your way, but I failed to see you arrive," the dark-haired quarter-Japanese girl apologized with a deep bow.

"We came immediately when we heard of the attack," the taller girl replied.

They entered the center tower, guided by Siesta back to the infirmary where several figures were gathered next to the poor, tattered figure of Sylphid.

The poor dragon had really seen better days. It opened one eye as the door opened.

"As you can see, poor Sylphid has been very hurt and Flame ran off into woods," the maid explained.

"Any reason why?" Louise asked as she tilted her head at her friends.

"Because she is not my familiar," Kirche complained from where she sat on a bed.

Sheila shook her head sadly. "You were killed and then revived?" That was the only way that she knew of to break the familiar bond at this point.

The dragon made a honking growl noise.

"Oh, you poor dear," the young princess said as she looked over at the dragon. "Didn't they give you something for your broken wing? Sheila?"

Tabitha looked up, unshed tears in eyes as she saw the damaged wing almost knit back together and then the most grievous wounds fade to merely bruises.

_"Wow, that is very amazing,"_ the Asian-looking boy sad from a little behind the group. _"Do you understand me?"_

_"Healing is a very potent power, of course. And yes, I and Princess Louise do understand you,"_ the goddess said to him in his native language with a very Tokyo accent.

"Oh, thank goodness. I found a translation spell in Brimir's Prayerbook, but I have lost all my will bringing Kirche back from such a dreadful wound. I fear that I've been casting too many spells," Tiffania exclaimed. "Louise, would you be able to..?"

Louise moved over to look at Tiffania's notes even as Tabitha was hugging her familiar tightly, listening to its cooing. The strawberry-blonde princess suddenly looked up at the dragon. "The foe was here to kill you and steal the Founder's Musicbox?" she blurted out at the dragon.

That caused everyone to stop and then look at the dragon. "Kyu?" she said very cutely.

Tabitha looked at Sheila and then Louise. "They know."

"They know what?" Kirche asked in irritation, hands on her hips as she stood up.

A shimmering light encompassed the dragon, leaving a quite naked girl with long blue hair in its place. "So I don't have to hide myself anymore? Kyu! That's so wonderful, big sister!"

_"Titties,"_ Saito said in shock as a streak of blood dripped from his nose.

"Clothing," Tabitha said firmly.

"Wait a second," the full red-head suddenly said, looking around. "How did you know? Could you understand her?"

"I've always been able to understand her. I mean, all the dragons I know of are intelligent. It's your basic fire and wind dragons here that are not, I guess." Sheila raised an eyebrow at Louise. "Do you think you can cast a translation spell?"

"Oh, certainly. It's actually incredibly easy," the shorter Void mage declared as she started chanting at Saito.

_"Uh, don't hurt me?"_ he asked worriedly.

There was another flash of light.

"Can you understand me now?" Louise asked in the standard tongue of Halkeginia.

"I do! That's an amazing talent you have," the boy said in wonder. "Though why do you have to use the sticks?"

"Why wouldn't you use a wand for your magic?" the half-elf asked in confusion.

"Magic? Then you mean you aren't Talent?" he asked in great confusion.

"Perhaps a bit of an introduction? I am Sheila, Goddess of Excellence and Battle. This is my companion and Void mage, Princess Louise al'Valliere. The pale haired girl is Tabitha of Gallia. That is Kirch Von Anhalt Zerbst while next to her is the void mage Tiffania. And this is her highnesses' maid in waiting."

"And I'm Irukuku the Rhyme dragon!" the naked girl exclaimed happily and she bounced a bit in excitement. "Kyu! I'm so happy I don't have to hide."

Sheila whipped a sheet off a nearby bead and had it wrapped around Sylphid's neck. "I think you are showing him a bit too much skin, Irukuku."

"Oh, ah, I'm Hiraga Saito of Academy City. I'm a Level Four Telekinetic," the Japanese boy said happily. "Thank you for feeding me. When can I go home?"

"He has the Myozthirirn rune upon his head? Is he your familiar, Tiffania?" Louise asked the half-elf.

Tiffania nodded shyly. "But I thought the rune allowed him to control magical items?"

"Familiar?" Saito asked, looking quite confused. "I thought those were black cats. And only witches had them. You look too pretty to be a witch."

"Yay for culture clash. Saito, you have been pulled to an alternate world of mages and magic. From what I can gather, you appear to be from a world that does not have much magic but you have mental powers?" the goddess asked.

"Um, yeah. Academy City was founded to help Talents develop their psychic abilities. Like I mentioned, I'm telekinetic." The young Japanese boy floated a bed off the ground. He looked at Sheila for a long moment. "Hey, you are that girl that appeared on CNN."

"You saw me on CNN?" Sheila parroted for a second. "Then that means this Academy City is actually on my Earth, somehow. Well, that means you are not _strictly_ stranded, though I don't plan on going back for a few months."

"What is CNN? And why would he see you on it?" Kirche asked.

"That's... going to take a while. Luckily, I brought some technology that will help explain this."

"Good, then you can explain it to all of us." Louise nodded her head imperiously.

* * *

Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair pulled her concealing cloak over her form. Only some of her red hair was showing out of her cowl and her black armor was covered by a long gray coat which was unpleasantly hot. The lower part of her face was covered in gauze bandages. With a snap of her reins, she set her large roan stallion down the path that curved around a few farms and to a large, muddy border to the receding lake.

Across the lake, she could see the Tristain side of the border as she came upon a group of farmers carrying bags upon their backs. They scurried off the road, watching her worriedly.

"You. What are you doing?" Dances demanded of the oldest peasant, a man with a long white beard.

"We are just trying to see if our homes have been released by the water spirit," he replied in a quavering tone.

"How do you summon this water spirit?" the Abyssal asked in a seemingly easy tone as she dismounted her horse.

"Er, we aren't mages, so can't summon the water spirit," the old man lied glibly.

"What, no rumors? No mystical stone circle's that the mages use?" she asked with a harder edge.

He doffed his hat. "I beg your pardon, lady, but we're not really-"

In a split second Dance's black sword appeared and was stabbed into the old woman's arm next to the old man. "One wrong answer and granny will never use that arm again," the alien woman said to the peasants. "I am in no mood to play games. I will _kill_ all of you in the most horrible manner beyond what you can imagine. Once again, do you know how to summon the water spirit?"

"Grandma!" a young child shrieked.

"Please, lady warrior, we are not mages, but we do see them go to the circle of stones here on the Gallia side of the border." The old man pointed off into the lake were an island lay, covered in trees. "But any peasant that goes there is killed by order of the king."

Dances just twirled the sword around, spattering them all with droplets of the old woman's blood, making her smile at the artistry he had created. She was back in the saddle and trotting down the muddy hill. The horse shied away from the edge of the lake but the Abyssal brutally forced it into the supernatural waters, heading towards the small hillock that was barely visible about a mile away.

Her spurs cut into the warhorse's flanks, pushing it onward against its desires to avoid the cold, dark waters. When she finally reached the island, she tethered her shivering horse on the edge, sneering at its weakness. What she wouldn't give for a good horse of magical pedigree, something that seemed unknown in his land. She fed her horse and cared for it.

The she started to cut her way through bramble to the crest, feeling the tingle of natural, spiritual magic. The ancient stones, set in square, lintel arches in a circle were nothing special in her mind. The magic of the Nerverborn or the First Age Solars were far beyond this primitive set up, though its unfamiliar positioning confused her.

Finally, at dusk she decided upon a blood offering, infusing the three stones within the center with her power and essence. It was a powerful time for the Dusk Caste, when her power was waxing. "By the Mask that binds with piercing thorns, heed my call oh spirit of Lake Ragdorian! Answer my call here on this place of power! Come forth!"

It was almost pure doggerel in mystical verse, but it _should_ work. And Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair felt the lake answer. Something deep within it had been startled awake by her necromantic essence that traveled through the dragon lines and into the lake. Bubbling water frothed at the edge of the hillock and formed into a barely human form and trod up to the circle of stones.

Its face flowed through several expression as the spirit showed its confusion in its language. Dances nodded at it as her cast mark burned in glowing, crimson blood upon her brow.

"Godling of the lake of Ragdorian, I greet you," the Abyssal spoke directly to the spirit as she prepared mental to use her Corpus Rending Blow charm.

"You are not of this land and are caught betwixt the land of Day and land of Night, armed only with a sword," the watery spirit declared, showing surprise that the being could understand its spiritual exhalations, but unworried by it. It would take powerful magic to injure it and even then it would then reform... eventually. "Why have you called me forth?"

"I seek the boon your pure kisses of water, for you are the last source of the water essence that the mage's can use to cure great ills and remove scars. What boon would you ask for this powerful item of your creation?" Dances demanded.

"You have nothing I desire, undead-alive thing," the spirit replied. It turned and started to flow back across to the tree.

So the agony as Dance's soulsteel sword as it ripped part of its spiritual body from it in a massive spray of water was not merely surprising, but devastating. "What! How is this possible?" the spirit cried in sudden fear.

"Little, foolish spirit... I have the potential power to slay Creation itself. You shall be sacrificed on the altar of your pride," she called out as slid around the huge mass of water.

"I am ancient beyond belief, mortal. You shall not hurt me with your tricks again," the spirit of pure water declared.

That was proven false as the red-headed horror charged forward and in a flurry of attacks, cut off both limbs that the spirit had formed to bludgeon as attacks, then kicked the water spirit backwards over fifty feet and into circle of stones.

"For you sins, you will be punished godling. I will visit you an eternity of agony if you do not give me what I want," she warned as spun and flipped around its flaying attacks.

"You have already cost me beyond the loss of such as the pure waters," it replied carefully, fear filling every mote of its turbulent waters. "I will give you what you seek."

Dance's held out a large jug, letting the spirit fill it with the prized healing water. Carefully stoppering it, the Abyssal nodded. "Thank you. And I am sorry."

"You are sorry for inflicting these horrible wounds?" the spirit of Lake Ragdorian asked in confusion.

"No, because I lied to you." The black soulsteel sword, filled with shadowy reflections of the twisted souls it was forged from, lashed out in a blitz of attacks. One blow removed the spirits head, a second its watery left forearm while the third attack cut its legs out from beneath it.

"Why? Why do this to me?" the spirit wailed its essence started to disperse back into the lake. It would survive even these blows, but would come back changed and a new being.

Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair laughed even as she grabbed the spirit's essence and slammed it into the center of the circle. "Let my God-Slaying Torment punish you for your transgression against me. Open the pathway to the Underworld and unleash the Eternal Night. You shall become a key to the end of this world." With her other hand, she slammed her sword through the dying spirit and slaying it's essence, its being to poison the ley lines.

The spirit screamed, swearing eternal pain and torment upon the Abyssal even as its water boiled black, searing the land as the two moons turned scarlet as the waters of Lake Ragdorian burned in black, bloody froth.

On the edges of the lake, animal and humans alike felt an unholy terror descend upon them as the stars faded out as Halkeginia's first Shadowland appeared. Spectral ghosts and the hungry undead, buried for centuries but unable to cross back over to the living world suddenly found themselves in the half-dead half-living world.

Dances smiled hungrily at the corpse of the powerful god-spirit. "I really shouldn't waste the Starmetal, should I?" She would have to forge the godling into something splendidly horrible.

Laughter drifted across the lake as the first peasant screamed in the new and most horrible night.

* * *

The queen of Tristain looked at the envoy from Gallia. "I'm afraid I am not aware of the treaty you are referring to, Marquis de Maritas. We have not opened the recuse of hidden weapons. As a matter of fact, I do not even know what hidden weapons you are referring to."

At her side sat King Wales who was listening intently.

The mage envoy looked stern, her gray hair tied up in a bun. "The release of the advanced firearms from those is prohibited! These weapons are not to be allowed into peasant hands, per the Treaty of Pristine Nobility," the marquis replied from where she stood in front of the two thrones in the main, blue and white halls of Tristain.

"Release?" Wales asked curiously. "Be specific in this case, as even I was not aware of any treaty between the four nations of ancient Halkeginia pertaining to any weapons."

"Of course, the powerful weapons from Elsewhere are known to our four great nations; Gallia, Tristain, Albion and Romalia. These are similar to the weapons that elves favor, advanced and powerful. And they do not require magic to function at all. That is why secret negotiations have been had in the past with the problem of Germania, as they are loathe to abide by the restrictions. Luckily we have managed to keep them from anything useful," de Maritas explained, ticking off points on her fingers.

"Ah, that could explain the confusion. These weapons we used in our war against the vile traitors of Albion were _not_ released from any hidden cache of weapons, but created with the help of a loyal subject and her familiar," Queen Henrietta explained carefully as she folded her hands upon the lap of her pristine white gown. "In fact, Sheila stated that these weapons and canons were quite primitive, even though the gunpowder she helped our alchemist create is much more safe and reliable."

"Engineers that have studied the banned weapons are not allowed to pass on their knowledge," the envoy said in a smug manner. "If you do not remove these weapons from your armies, you shall be crushed before the might of Gallia and Romalia and our released weapon caches."

"And if the 'engineer' is from Elsewhere?" Cardinal Mazarin asked where he stood at the queen's side. "For Sheila was not from our world, claiming to be from a land where these weapons are common."

"I-" The Gallian looked confused. "I do not believe that is actually covered under the treaty. But you will destabilize the continent and may start a war with the elves! And empowering the peasants to rise up against us, the nobles of Halkeginia."

"I think we have heard enough, my love. King Joseph's machinations have been found to be connected to the Reconquistia as a major funder. He has attacked the fleet of Albion, though he claimed that was the actions of a hot-headed captain." Wales' eyes were hard as considered things. "Then he sends you, Marquis de Maritas, with threats of war."

"Gallia is the mightiest nation of Halkeginia! Our repository of weapons is the most extensive-" the older woman started to say.

"And if you bring them out, you break the treaty and will be shunned by all the nations. Will Romalia follow you into battle when we have not broken this treaty and you do?" Henrietta suddenly stood up, looking quite regal. "And will you dare face us with us against the Holy Void and her Familiar?"

The Marquis de Maritas looked confused. "I thought that Louise the Zero had not been seen in quite a while?"

"And has returned, more powerful than ever before. The secrets of Void are being found out by her and others. Take heed, Gallian, that if you threaten us again, that we will fight you with everything we have. For we have Brimir's magic within our will as our holy purpose," the queen declared. "Leave and tell King Joseph this."

The Marquis de Maritas suddenly pales as she realized that she had read the situation entirely wrong. This was not a weakened nation that would bow to her own country, but a powerful and prideful nation that had just crushed their last enemy. With a stiff bow, she backed up and then left.

She would be lucky to escape with her life, as King Joseph was not kind to messengers that brought him dire news.

* * *

Tristain's Academy for magic was startled awake by the sound of thunder that shook the windows in the direction from Colbert's workshop. The bald mage came scrambling out of his lodgings, slipping on his glasses and trying to pull his tunic straight. Next to the covered form of the Zero fighter stood three figures.

"Are you ready, Louise?" Sheila asked her companion patiently. They were both dressed casually, she in a severe military-looking uniform while Louise was actually wearing her school uniform. Behind them and to one side stood Siesta in her uniform.

"I think so. I really liked using this and I want to become more familiar with it," the Void Mage said as she sighted down the large rifle. It was improbably long and far heavier looking than the dainty girl should have been able to wield. She read the status indicators again, noting the full charge.

"What was that noise?" the older mage asked them, rubbing his eyes. "It is a day of Void and everyone is lying in."

"Sorry, I needed to charge the capacitors to full on the railgun," the goddess replied as she gestured to Louise. "Louise wants to practice with it in case we fighting that woman in black armor."

_CRACK!_ went the weapon, kicking slightly. Over six hundred feet away, a small tree had a two foot section explode.

"Where is the smoke?" Colbert asked in confusion.

"There is no gunpowder. It uses lightning to throw the metal slug!" Louise said with a small grin, patting the big weapon fondly. "And it can really hit targets out to twelve thousand feet?"

"Yes, it should be able to."

"Remarkable," the fire mage said with a heavy overtone of wonder in his voice.

"Oh, it's just Louise having to be the center of attention again," an irate looking red-head said, hand on the hips of her school uniform as she finished stomping up to them.

"Weapon," Tabitha tiredly noted.

"Hey! I don't go around just calling you human or mage!" Derflinger yelled out from Sheila's back.

The Gallian mage leaned on her staff and then leaned forward to study the rifle through her glasses. "Study?" she asked Louise.

"What are we studying?" the strawberry-blonde Void mage asked in confusion.

"Tabitha thinks she's figured out a way to help her mother with some void magic. Dispel magic and then powerful void mage to cure her mind of the damage," Kirche explained.

"Should be easy to do. Is she under house arrest? Will we have to escape with her?" Sheila asked the quiet girl.

"No will," Tabitha explained. That was when a very large dragon landed next to the pale-haired girl. She leaned against Irukuku tenderly.

"Is it critical right this moment? I would hate to run into a trap by someone that took an army to run off," Sheila finally asked. This rumor of the Gandalfyr that could shrug off cannon rounds and Karin the Heavy Wind had slightly unnerved her.

"It's really important!" Kirche nearly shouted.

"I'm not saying we should not work towards freeing her, but there are some problems. We could be starting a war by having the crown princess and her companion invading Gallia right now. Tensions are high..." The goddess looked like she was concentrating in a very hard matter.

"I know you want to help, Kirche. Tabitha has a very good friend in you, but Tristain and Gallia are on the edge of war right now," Louise explained. "We are supposed to present ourselves to the queen this morning to discuss strategy to defend against them. Especially now that we have found out that Gallia has advanced weapons that we thought were our Ace of Mages."

"Orders..." Tabitha said softly.

"We are not at war with Gallia yet, Tabitha. Hopefully we can avoid that. Yet it may come down to war to depose King Joseph and put his daughter or Princess Charlotte upon that throne," Louise said as she thought through the politics of the matter.

Kirche snickered while the pale-haired girl looked at Louise in consternation. "I'm sure that the Gallian royal family would be very interested in your plans, Louise the Zero."

"Ooh! You Zerbst! I am just planning for 'just in case'!" the strawberry-blonde said in vexation.

* * *

Cardinal Mazarin was leading a procession down into a deep basement in the palace. "Once their majesties became aware of the possibility of advanced weapons, they talked with the old nobles and asked for advice from the Queen Mother."

"And I take it they found something?" Princess Louise said. Today she was not wearing her school uniform nor even a dress of finery for a ball or date, but her armor.

Sheila narrowed her eyes as a mage knight pulled out a key and then unlocked a door at the end. The small room was filled with junk, crates and chests. "A secret passage?" She walked to the far wall, brushing grime from a spot. Then she reached over, purr a torch ring and the twisted it with effort. The squeal of tortured metal filled the room, but a section of the wall in the corner slid back.

In the next room was revealed ten crates perfectly preserved.

Cardinal Mazarin could not believe it. None of those with the secret had mentioned a second, hidden room. And this girl had found it with her strange, discerning eyes. "I had hoped you might be able to discover something hidden."

"AK-47's, Civil War .69 caliber Harpers Ferry Rifle and that looks like a Model 1859 Model Sharps from the same era. Some grenades and one rocket launcher," Sheila said as she studied the guns. "Hmm. These look like replicas, not original ammunition."

"Quite potent, hmm?" the Cardinal said as he considered matters.

"No, not really. They'd last an afternoon or two, but logistically they aren't that useful. The AK-47s are probably the best to replicate. The Soviets made a reliable weapon that just about any monkey with a hammer seemed like they could duplicate."

"So this is worthless? That doesn't sound right," Louise noted even as several other knight were poking around.

"The trick is that we don't really have the basics down well enough to make most of these. There's several advances in gunpowder and explosives that the chemists really need to get down pat. I mean, it was only last year that we introduced cased ammunition and working towards gun-cotton powder." Sheila frowned as she considered matters. It appears she was going to have to move up her plans for advancing firearms rapidly.

"We should report this to their majesties," the crown princess declared. She gave a nod to her head to the cardinal, then led her companion out of the room.

It only took them about ten minutes to wind back up through the dungeon and into the royal wing. They nodded to Agnes as they were admitted.

"Well? Did you manage to discover anything?" Henrietta asked from her seat at her private desk where she was doing her work.

"Yes, please do enlighten us," Wales asked from his seat where he was lounging.

"There are weapons there, your majesties, but not nearly enough to turn a large battle." Sheila shrugged.

"That does not matter. A more grave concern has arisen. Lake Ragdorian appears to have become blackened by a massive curse. Ghosts and living dead walk the land and it threatens all of south Tristain. You are to leave in the morning and investigate this matter. It may be related to the Gates of St. Tyronil."

That got both young woman to nod.

"We should prepare for the journey then," Louise said. She bowed deep to her leige and then led Sheila back to their private rooms. Already there were specific things of their own.

"We should prepare. It's been six days," Sheila said as she ran her fingers to trace Louise's jaw. She could feel Louise's mind checking the passage of time and nodded in reply.

A pull of the bell summoned Siesta as they started to remove their armor.

"You rang, your highness?" the maid asked as she entered the room.

"Yes, my maid," Louise said, echoing Sheila's turn of phrase. "We will want a light supper brought up and a tub for a bath. But after that, you are free to spend the evening as you wish."

Supper was quite quick as the two teens ate in silence and peace. As Siesta was taking the trays out, Sheila could feel a discontent rising up in her mage. "What's wrong?"

Louise pulled her bathrobe tighter about her. "That girl always makes me feel so inadequate." She pressed her hands to her flat bosom. "I think you promised that you could do something about that."

"I can and will, but I'd ask that you let me mold your form a little at a time. If you suddenly walked out in the morning with boobs bigger than Siesta, you might have some people thinking you are a doppleganger," Sheila noted dryly. "Besides, you are young and have not had a child. Your body needs room to grow still."

"I'm almost seventeen, Sheila. I don't have a lot more time to grow. I want to be womanly." Louise gulped slightly. "I don't feel very... womanly most of the time."

"You are very beautiful, Louise. Most girls could only wish for your complexion and noble features. But I will do this for you, because I love you," Sheila said even as she tried to blank out her misgivings about the fact that she no longer felt an unnatural compulsion in her love. Louise was still responding to her overtures and seemed to care for her deeply. "Let me slip into something more comfortable."

With a flash, she reverted to her fully ascended form, her hair glowing like soft sunlight. "This is one of my few truly godly powers." She trailed her hands down the neck of Louise's robes, loosening it and then opening it wide. "You do need to remove all your clothing."

The Void Mage nodded shyly, realizing that this was going to be a turning point in their relationship. She slipped off the bathrobe and hung it on the bed post. Her last bit of clothing was removed from her hips and she lay there, the thing girl with only a hint of her adultness starting to touch her form.

Sheila impishly kissed her lips, then started to mold the flesh. Blemishes disappeared as she slightly thinned Louise's waist. Perfect symmetry was added, starting from her follicles on her head all the way down to her matching toes. Her bust was increased from the beginning of an A-cup to the low end of a B-cub. Hips were slightly widened even as Sheila made other, slight changes that you would only ever see from the inside. Small changes to her respiratory and pulmonary systems.

Not only was Louise's beauty now a thing of near legend by itself, but the imbued ichor shown with greater strength. The last of thirty-one changes that Louise underwent in that minute was her hair becoming pure silken and unbroken as it increased two feet to nearly brush her heals.

"I'm not an artist, my love, but I think I have created a wonder. Though I only amplified things slightly." Sheila pulled Louise to her feet to show her the difference in the oval mirror that stood in the corner.

The mage, for her part, gently trailed her hands down her changed curves, cupping her breasts. "This is me?" She frowned ever so slightly, inadvertently increasing her bust for a short while with her borrowed ichor. The kiss at the nape of her neck drew her to gaze to her companion-goddess. She turned and then kissed Sheila. "I feel... very womanly now. Could we try that other method of sharing?" she asked shyly after breaking the kiss.

Blue-green eyes studied her red-brown eyes. "Of course, my mage," Sheila whispered back as her heart thudded in joyous pain. This time her hands wandered freely, causing Louise's breath to catch in her throat.

* * *

The next day, Louise was regretting her new curves, as they made her armor no longer perfectly fit.

"I already told you, we'll adjust that when I have time at a forge," Sheila said. She had stayed in her full godly form, the glowing hair startling to all the Tristainian nobles as they walked down the halls of the palace to the front gate.

Louise grumbled even as she wriggled and her borrowed legend temporarily let her fit her armor again. "Oh, much better."

"Interesting. You are getting the hang of using my ichor there. And not just for understanding languages." Sheila gave her companion a quick smile as the guards opened the door.

"Your highness, do you have any orders?" Siesta asked as she tried to study her noble while pretending not to. The noble had never looked so relaxed.

"Return to the Academy and give word to Headmaster Osmond that we are on a mission for their majesties," Louise delegated instantly and without thinking.

Sheila was studying a wing of griffins with their mage knights as they landed in the courtyard.

"Of course, your highness." Siesta then bowed deeply.

Derflinger piped up, "See you later, pretty girl!"

That got Louise and Siesta to glare at the sword on Sheila's back, causing the goddess to glance into the sky as if to ask... Why me?

"Derf!"

"It's Derflinger!"

"I fear that this trip to Lake Ragdorian will not be as pleasant as our last one," Sheila finally said, changing the subject. The fact that it had become tainted was a strange parallel to the love she had profused on those shores, she thought bitterly. She shook off those bitter thoughts. That love may have been influenced externally, but it appears that it may have grown into a reality of its own.

"So let us get to this task as quickly as possible." The Void Mage started chanting a spell and with a pop, a green portal appeared in front of her. "I think I might know how to make a permanent portal. And with a bit of practice, even enchant it to go to your world!"

"Very nice work. What was holding you back from figuring this out?" her goddess asked as she took Louise's hand and stepped through the portal.

"It has to be anchored to the Earth at the beginning and end point," the Void Mage proclaimed proudly. "By the Founder!"

What had caused that was lake with water as black as the void of space. An oppressive gloom seemed to hang over everything, as even the sun seemed muted and faded out, a pale blue.

"A gateway to the underworld," the goddess said solemnly. "I see the restless dead in quite a large number."

"Let's talk to some of the locals," the shorter teen said even as she checked her wand and pistol.

The lake had retreated quite a ways back down towards its old shores, though the village on the edge of the lake looked largely deserted. They walked down the hill in the squelching mud in the early morning light.

"Thank god, it's a mage knight," an old man croaked from a doorway. "Praise the prophet, we are saved."

"Did any others survive?" Sheila asked the thing in the form of a man.

Louise felt unease through her link with Sheila. 'What is going on?'

'He is not alive and some _thing_ is using his body,' she replied silently through their bond.

"No," he lied in fake sorrow. "I'm the only one. I've just stayed here to watch over this village."

"So who are you working for?" Sheila asked.

"Eh? Pardon?" the undead thing asked. He sized up the teen with but the use of a touch of necrotic essence, her glowing white hair and paled dramatically at what he glimpsed. "G-Goddess, forgive my impertinence for trying to keep a humble visage in these lowly lands.

"So answer the question in your humble manner," Sheila asked firmly. Louise was frowning, because she could not see a difference.

"I am but a humble acquaintance of Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair, she who stands on the border of Life and Death," the Nemissary said very cautiously. This being matched Dances in power? Though admittedly, only with her hand upon her sword, with the Nemissary coveting such a necromanticly powerful weapon once it had realized that.

"Who is this Dances on the Cutting Wind of Despair?" Louise demanded, her dueling wand at her hip's side, its cool grip comforting in her right hand.

"She is the slayer of the Water Spirt of Ragdorian and has made this land as you see it," the Nemissary said carefully. His loyalty was never strong, of course, and Dance's had not specifically ordered him to not tell anyone. That was probably assumed with the order to kill those unwary that came into the Shadowland (what an intriguing term.)

"And she is in this darkened land?" Blue-green eyes studied the possessing spirit closely.

"No, she has traveled deeper into the Underworld at the bidding of her master," the undead said in a very placating tone.

"I think we have enough information to at least start making decisions, my mage," Sheila said to her companion.

"I'll just be going then-" the Nemissary started to say when its undead-animated body exploded in a terrifying display of positive, healing energies. Before he could even think to flee deep into the underworld, he had hand about his neck.

"I think you've murdered enough people, foul thing," the goddess declared. With a squeeze of her hand, she shattered his incorporeal form.

Louise was already creating a portal back to the palace.

* * *

Saito Hiraga was finally getting used to the fact that magic was real. And that he was attending a school of magic in a castle. Thankfully he managed to keep from calling it Hogwarts so far. He had to admit that there were worse things than being the familiar of a very buxom elf, though Tiffania kept trying to hide her ears.

"You can open your eyes now," the half-elf called out.

The Japanese boy peeked out, seeing that she was dressed in her normal green dress and had her hat ready. "So its time for breakfast?" he asked cheerfully. While he missed his normal breakfast, eating with the students here at the Academy had been fairly nice.

"Yes, it is," the taller girl said. She hid a frown at his simple desires. He obviously was very attracted, but something did not quite seem to be quite right in the way he responded.

He followed 'his mage' down to breakfast, getting wary nods from some of the students. While he did not use a wand, most of the nobles had decided he must be his land's version of a mage. His uniform looked similar to the boy's suits, even if he had a jacket and they had capes. Their place at the center table was not noted, as they had been doing the last month. Most of the girl's thought Tiffania was some sort of country bumpkin to not take her hat off at the table.

Breep-bing-bing.

All the eating stopped at the center table as the Second Years students all looked around for the very strange noise. People at the next two tables started craning their necks.

Breep-bing-bing.

Malicorne looked over. "Are you making that very strange bird song?"

"Oh, that's my phone telling me that there is a signal." Saito smiled at that, then his smile dropped as he realized what he was actually saying. His hand flashed to his pocket and pulled out a phone, frantically tapping and flicking through menus. The phone made a few more noises, then started to make several more chimes. "I've got messages!"

Everyone else was looking at the young Japanese student as if he was insane.

"My mother has been very worried." He was typing on the little glowing screen very quickly. "She's not very happy that I ran away from home, so I'm trying to explain that I was summoned to another world."

"You are talking to your mother? But I thought your mother was on another world? And is that little thing like Sheila's comp-ooter?" Kirche asked from across the table, leaning forward.

"It's smaller and we use it to talk to people who are not close," Saito explained happily. "Um, do you mind if I take your picture to prove to my mother that I'm not ill or kidnapped?"

He had Tiffania, Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche and Montmorency all crowded into the center, along with several other mages in the background. The flashes startled most of them even as the young man sent the pictures.

Most of the students went back to their eating, even as Saito continued to tap away on the little device. He was finding it hard going to explain to his mother he was not playing one of his video games on his phone. Nor was he at a fantasy convention.

It was near the end of breakfast that Louise and Sheila wandered down. The newly arrived Void Mage blinked as she took in his hunched form, playing with the screen. "What is he doing?" she asked as she sat down to eat.

"It appears he's already figured out your little gateway and is talking to his family," Sheila said with a grin. Her expression turned grim. "But we need to get back to the army camped north of Lake Ragdorian."

"So you figured out how open a portal to Saito's home world?" Tiffania asked with a bright smile.

"That's right. I've prepared a magical circle out in the Vestri Court and we are going to look at opening a full size portal later," the strawberry-blonde said as she buttered a muffin where she sat.

"Thank you very much. My mother is still confused about everything, but she's happy I'm fine." Saito gave her a big smile.

It was not long before Louise and Sheila departed through a glowing portal to Lake Ragdorian, meeting up with the main army of Tristain that was encamped in the hills above the inky waters.

Saito had not really noticed, as he was busy finishing up his message. "Hmm. My mother is really wanting me to get home as soon as possible. And she wants to meet you, Tiffania, as you are my mage."

"What do you think, Tabitha? Do you think we can use that circle to create a portal?" the blonde half-elf asked.

"Should," the pale-haired girl replied as she looked up from her book.

"It sounds like a grand adventure," Kirche said brightly. "Let's go already!"

"Leave me out of it," Montmorency declared as she put her fists upon her hips.

She grabbed her quiet friends hand and dragged her out to grassy courtyard. An area had been cleared out, showing an intricate rune pattern on a solid stone slab that she really did not remember from earlier. Floating above it was a small flat circle.

"It does look all completed," Tiffania said as she studied the runes. They were more complicated than she remembered, but it appeared it was just ready for the infusion of Void to open the portal. "Are you ready, Tabitha?"

The other girl nodded as she raised up her crooked staff. The half-elf joined her and they started chanting. The glowing spark of green started to grow bigger. After five minutes of chanting, it was soon over six feet tall.

"Willpower?" Tabitha muttered to herself, seemingly studying the runes much more closely.

"It really didn't require much, did it? I suppose the runes upon the ground helped empower it from the magic in the land. That's something my mother had talked about." That made the half-elf look a bit sad.

"Is it safe to walk through?" the Japanese teen asked the girls.

At his mage's nod, he immediately walked through the portal. With an indignant squawk, Kirche charged right after him, dragging Tabitha with her. Tiffania settled her hat upon her head and then stepped through.

"-move you will be fired upon!" one of a few men in bulky, padded armor was calling out. They were on the triangular lawn in front of a gleaming building of glass in between two very large parking lots.

"Um, we come in peace?" Saito replied, his hands slowly raising.

"What is that portal and what is your intention here?" the uniformed young man called out.

"Halkeginia, of course!" Saito replied as he looked around.

"So this is the home of Sheila and Saito?" Kirche exclaimed with a grandiose gesture of her arms.

"Um, not my homeland. There's too much English writing, so this is probably America or Scotland. Uh, I mean Britain," the Japanese boy said.

"So where _are_ you from then, kid?" a second Port Authority policeman asked.

"Academy City in Japan!" he replied with a happy smile. "May I call my mother?"

* * *

"So what do you have, Miller?" Special Agent Murdoch Styles asked as he walked over to a portable command center for the Port Authority Police in JFK International Airport in one of its many parking lots.

"Didn't Agent Barnes from the TSA let you know he was talking to the invaders?" Miller replied as he looked up from his computer, phone in his ear. When Murdoch did not reply, he continued. "We have some weird people in costume, a Japanese national that disappeared about four weeks ago and a freaking glowing portal right in front of the Terminal 4. The Japanese kid was happy to talk to his mother, by the way. And the one girl has elf-ears."

"I heard they were unarmed," Styles said. "So what are we holding them on?"

"Trespass, for now. The problem is that they seem to speak a language that sounds a bit like French, but according to our translators is _not_. And the boy from Japan understands them, even though he says he is only a middling student of only English." The older policeman frowned, hanging up the phone. "The thing is, I can't hear any accent on the boy. None at all-"

"Miller! Something is coming through the portal and you have to see this!" an agent called out.

Everyone headed over to the glowing green portal as a reptilian head head stuck through and then the rest of 'Sylphid' followed through. She snuffled around, unhappy 'kyu-kyu' noises at the acrid stench of modern polution.

"Come back here you dratted familiar," a bald-headed man said in the language of far off Halkeginia. "I know you can understand me to at least a limited degree. What do you think you are doing?" Professor Colbert looked around, realizing that the portal must have taken him farther abreast than he had expected. "What an intriguing construction."

"Freeze!" a very tense lieutenant of the police called out. "This is the police! Put your hands up!"

"Nobody shoot!" Agent Murdoch Styles shouted out quickly as he ran over.

Colbert already had his wand out, so started chanting and then tapped himself on his forehead. "I say, hello? Exactly where am I?"

Not one of the police or goverment agents could hear an accent. Styles waved for people to lower their weapons. "This is..." He paused here a second. "JFK International Airport in the United States. Is anyone else going to come through that portal?"

"I doubt it. Most students are in class and the servants know better than to poke around a magical portal. Sylphid, I think you had better calm down. I'm sure we'll find your master." The bald professor was very busy looking everywhere. So much glass. So many metal objects and a strange black ground.

"Kyu! Kyu!" Irukuku whined, sniffing around a bit more.

"You haven't happened to see a young girl about this tall, pale hair with a staff, have you? It really would be best if her familiar could be taken to her," Colbert explained.

Styles nodded slowly. "This way. I'm Special Agent Styles of the F.B.I. What's your name?"

"I'm Professor Colbert of the Tristain Academy. A pleasure to meet you. I was looking for a few of my students that have apparently wandered farther afield than I thought."

"Well, they caused a disruption with their portal," the federal agent explained as he led them to another large truck. "So we are holding them for the time being."

"Sir, the portal again!" Miller shouted out, causing everyone to turn around. Guns were raised.

Another two figures were standing in front of the portal, garbed in ancient armor that glinted brightly in the sun.

"Freeze! Put your hands up!" a JFK police officer called out.

"Carefully do as the nice men with guns are saying, your highness," Sheila said carefully, raising her hands. "This wasn't _exactly_ how I envisioned Tristain initiating diplomatic contact with the United States and the UN." She sighed at people mucking up her carefully considered plans.

"It looks like Tiffania and Tabitha figured out how to cast the portal spell and lock it into the runes on the grounds," Louise said with a sniff as she raised her hands as ordered. "How long will it be before a noble comes to discuss these important matters?"

"That FBI agent will probably be the first person we'll get to talk to. Remember, Americans can be touchy about nobility. They believe in self-rule."

Professor Colbert blinked as he took in the information. "Oh, so this was a diplomatic mission from her majesty?"

"Diplomatic mission from _where_?" Agent Styles asked carefully as his headache started to grow.

"An alternate reality kingdom where magic exists, of course." Sheila just snickered at his dumbfounded look. "This is probably going to take a while. 'Take me to your leader.'"

* * *

Mohamed Al'hazzis was not too happy. Something had happened up at JFK Termina 4 and cars were being diverted. "Why, oh why, Allah, do you test me so?" The radio of his taxi crackled with more useless information about the shutdown.

"Man, what da hell is going on? I gotta flight to catch in an hour to France!" the black man in his back seat nearly shouted.

"I am very very sorry, sir, but dispatch is saying some sort of security shut down. Maybe terrorist scare again. Happens like once every few months," the Iranian called over his shoulder.

In the middle of the street, a police officer was directing traffic by hand to the side when the ground started to rumble and sent him stumbling. Parked cars in the nearby parking garage started to honk and shriek as their car alarms started to go off. In the midden of the road behind him, the ground started to swirl like it was water or liquid mud.

As casually as if he were just walking out of a swimming pool, a very large man wearing a Grecian breast plate and gauntlets, his beard neatly formed as they did three thousand years ago, led a procession of monsters. Dwarfed by his twelve foot tall heroic figure came brutish cyclopian giants wielding massive clubs that looked like pieces of oak trees.

The cop grabbed his radio handset from his shoulder. "I have no idea how to call this in. Armed men have appeared at the Van Wick Expressway just before it turns off to Terminal 4."

"Copy that Cp. Adams. What are they armed with, over?" the dispatch operator replied.

"Spears and large clubs-"

Keerash!

The elegant giant had been looking around and pointed. So with a bestial roar that could be hear even over the roar of jet engines, the cyclops charged across the vacant turnpike and started to bat aside cars in the parking lot with horrendous crashes and the blaring of car alarms.

Special Agent Murdoch Styles stopped glaring at the two armored girls to look off in the distance. "What is that?"

Sheila was looking off in the distance and was frowning. "That, Special Agent Styles, was the roar of a half dozen cyclops. Which means you have some very big problems headed this way.

"Good lord," Captain Miller yelled out. "They're monsters."

The cyclops were cutting across the intervening roads and parking lots in quite the brutish fashion. Vans, cars and pieces of the road were flying from their clubs.

"Do you have any heavy weapons?" the goddess shouted out to Styles.

"How heavy?" he shouted right back.

"Grenade launchers and up. Louise, stay back here and support me with the railgun." With a snap, she took off at a blur to appear in front of the the nearest cyclops after it has just totalled a Ford Taurus, impaling it on Derflinger.

"Wow, I haven't seen a one-eyed giant in centuries!" the sword exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure Brimir exterminated them."

"Why are you here?" the five foot four inch tall girl asked the titanspawns in Classical Greek.

"They are here at my orders. To crush the enemies of our Mother and to investigate the strange portal you came through, Daughter of the Dodekathon. Gaia herself has become interested in you, little godling," the statuesque giant said at the back of the cyclops. "And now that we have confirmed this, I shall break your body in revenge for the death of Gelmatheon on Olympus."

"I helped kill a lot more than one Antean giant," Sheila noted as Derflinger warded off three blows.

"Ouch! Ow! Whoa!" the sword cried.

With a massive 'CRACK' sound, the head of the nearest cyclops sprayed blood. Off in the distance, Louise clicked her tongue in frustration as she sighted down the railgun. "They have hard heads, it seems." Indeed, the Cyclops just stood back up and shook his head to continue fighting.

The goddess was frowning at them. She sent her thoughts to Louise even as she garbed herself in the power of a juggernaut of war, letting her match the size and strength of the elder cyclops and the Antean giant in ichor-formed brass and bronze armor. _'Louise, be aware of tricks. This is a distraction.'_

Louise moved over to the portal. _'I will, my companion.'_ "Special Agent Styles, I believe that my companions from Halkegenia would be of great assistance in protecting this portal from attack. Especially against monsters that you do not seem to be equipped to deal with."

"Kevin, go get those kids from the van. Mr. Colbert, is what she saying true?" Styles called out, sweat staining his forehead under his short crewcut black hair.

"Yes, quite possibly," the teacher replied.

"Kyu-kyu!" the dragon said happily next to them, starting to sniff around. With a short hop and a glide, she landed over by a large 'incident' command vehicle and pulled open the door to the poor door's detriment. "KYU!"

A small, crooked staff bopped her on the nose. "Bad."

"Now now, Tabitha. She's just tracking you down," Kirche said haughtily.

"Kyu," Sylphic cooed in complaint.

Saito followed slowly behind the girls. "Uh, the nice officer asked us to stay in the van."

"Don't sweat it kid. Supposedly your friends are good at stopping monsters," the American said to him from closer to the portal.

A rather large crowd was gather just behind the police barricade. There were at least four different news crews and everyone seemed to be holding up cell phones. So the squeal of tires down the road in front of the curved building of glass and steel was quite unnerving. The huge, black semi-truck and trailer seemed quite imposing as it smashed through the barricade of cop cars that had been blocking the street. The two cop cars were sent spinning from the force of the impact and one of the police officers screamed as his legs were snapped like twigs.

Whoever was driving the Mac truck was insane as he set the wheels squealing like you would see in a bad action flick, sending the whole truck sliding sideways. People in the crowd pulled back behind some of the concrete retaining walls.

For a long moment, the truck just sat there unmoving. Then the trailer's sides dropped, revealing strange, almost human men wearing Roman breastplates over modern camouflage. Across each shoulder was an axe and in their hands were Isreali made uzis.

"For our god and the world!" they roared out as they leaped out of the back.

The door to the truck's cab was kicked open as a six-foot-three figure wearing a shining, Grecian breastplate stepped out. Like his Myrmidons, he also was wearing a modern uniform under his armor. He had a machine gun in his hand and a gleaming axe across his back. "Defend that portal for your god, Victor Phalanx, and Olympus!"

Guiche blinked even as he took in the figure. "Olympus? Isn't that where Sheila is from?" he asked his fellow students. A surge of energy had emboldened him like a shot of adrenaline. His rose-wand was almost vibrating with power.

"The security of this portal and the lands behind it now fall to me, Victor Phalanx, God of Soldiers and Son of Ares," the tall figure said. He looked like something that should be in a movie poster, not real life.

"The hell you say," Styles snapped back. "You bust in here and just think you can take over?"

"Medusa in the crowd," one of the Myrmidons called out.

"Hold weapon!" the God of Soldiers yelled out, averting a bloodbath.

Out of the crowd stepped four female monsters that pulled back their hoodies from their hideous visages. Their hair of snakes hissed and squirmed, freezing all that met their appearance.

"Avert your gaze," Louise shouted out. "Only look at them in a mirror." She had turned herself away instantly and almost swore in frustration as she saw that Kirche and Guiche had been frozen by the horrors.

Most of the Myrmidons had likewise been frozen, along with their god. That was when salvation appeared in the form of the a US Marine's Apache attack chopper, kicking up a lot of wind as it roared over head towards the giants. The medusa shrieked and covered their faces, freeing everyone. The lead one was hit with a jack-hammer of air from Tabitha and a fireball from Colbert. Kirche was only a moment later, creating a bonfire out of another even as Styles sighted center mass of another and fired his semi-auto 10mm Berretta.

From behind the giant and his cyclopian, winged horrors appeared from the swirling sinkhole in the earth. The shriek of the winged monster-women, the Harpies, pierced the cacophony of both battles. The Apache's chaingun roared, ripping a cyclops into bloody chunks.

The pilot stared in horror as the monster started to pull itself back together. "I hit it but it is recovering," he called out to his base as his gun-camera zoomed in close.

A strangely clear voice appeared on his radio. "Apache helicopter, please be aware that a tornado is about to appear," Sheila called out as she floated over with her back to the portal as the bronze, brass and steel armor sublimated off of here. "Retreat immediately." She thumbed open a corked bottle from her belt unleashing a tornado she had captured only a week ago while flying over Tristain.

The wind howled and roared in anger at appearing in such an alien world. For a tornado, it was not terribly large at only ninety feet tall and wide at the top.

"Oh, hush. Don't break any windows, but I want those harpies smashed," she ordered even as she avoided a massive column of earth that shot up at her at the behest of the Antean giant.

The Apache had already been pulling back and moved much faster as the threat appeared. With a booming roar, the tornado moved as if it were alive, swirling the harpies in its embrace.

Louise finished sighting off a reflection on her greaves, the six-shooter pointed over her shoulder backwards and upside down. With a crack-crack-crack, the fourth Medusa was sent jerking from three head-shots.

"When did you get that good?" Kirche complained even she sent fire to scorch a harpy in the air as it dived at her.

A snake made of flame scorched another, even as most of the harpies were sucked into the vortex of the tornado.

The smallest mage frowned as she looked around. "We need to shut down the portal for at least a while." With her wand she sent a small explosion of void at the nearest cyclops.

The one-eyed giant bellowed in anger as its armor cracked. Then it hard far greater problems as Victor Phalanx's axe slammed down, biting hard into his shoulder. With a mighty kick, the god sent the cyclops flying into another cyclops.

"They will continue to heal if they are touching the Earth! Gaia has blessed them with unlimited healing while they stand upon her!" Sheila called out even as she threw a bolt of lightning at the Antean giant.

Tiffania winced even as she uncertainly pointed her wand around. She flinched as a harpy came out her when it suddenly turned ninety degrees and plowed into the earth face first with punishing force. "Saito?"

"I'm here, my mage," he replied happily as he gestured at another harpy, plowing it into a car.

Guiche had a pleasant smile upon his face as rose petals floated around him as he stood next to the portal. "Such un-lovely creatures, but it is a noble duty to destroy such monsters. Rise my Valkyrie and destroy them!" With a swish of his wand, the ground rumbled as eight foot tall bronze statues appeared from the ground itself. It seemed so amazing to him, his power increasing.

"Line?" Tabitha asked curiously even as she flash-froze another harpy, causing it to shatter when it hit the ground.

"Kyu!" Sylphid called out as she slashed out with her two front claws. Her reptilian hind flexed hard as her tail smashed the head of another cyclops, but it just got back up.

Louise suddenly realized something. "Guiche! Step away from the portal! You're possessed!"

"What are you talking about? This is my moment of triumph," he called back in slight confusion even as his wand flicked without his command, creating shining bronze rose-petals that swirled around him.

"Close!" Saito called out even as the runes on his forehead flared to life for the first time.

With a snap, the glowing green portal vanished and with it, the strange vitality that had infused Guiche. With a groan, he collapsed to his face.

"Sheila! I think we were outmaneuvered," Louise called out.

The young goddess hissed in frustration. Distraction within distraction within cunning traps. Of course it was through the Earth elemental mage that Gaia would strike. "Rise them up and throw them into the bay, cunning wind," she called out to her pet tornado.

With a bellowing roar, the tornado swept up the remaining cyclops and carried them off at his mistresses bidding, but the Antean giant feet stayed firmly adhered to the ground.

"I am invincible! With Gaia's blessing and planning, your defeat is imminent!" The ground boomed as he took careful steps.

Victor Phalanx ran up, leaped into the air and then smashed down with his blood-soaked axe. "Die for the glory of Olympus!"

"Fool! Like all gods, you are doomed!" the giant stated as he caught the God of Soldiers, smashing him to the ground. The crater created by the impact was easily fifty feet wide and even caused Victor Phalanx to cough blood.

"Then you should weep in despair, giant, for I am a Thunderer!" Sheila called out above him as a crackling bolt of lightning appeared in her hand, then lashed out at the giant.

He screamed in agony, but immediately started healing using his own might and power. "You dare?"

"Boots," Tabitha called out. Indeed, the boots of the giant were quite large and unusual.

"Together, Tiffania, we'll dispel the magic within them," the strawberry-blonde Void Mage called out. The blonde half-elf joined her as they raised their wands.

Styles looked up from talking in his radio. "What are they doing?"

"Magic," Saito called out in wonder.

The massive explosion of void canceling magic struck the giant's boots, to seemingly no effect. "If you won't come down, then I will kill the ones you care in front of you," the Antean giant bellowed.

"Saito, lift him up now!" Kirche called out. "And together, Tabitha!"

The pale maiden nodded even as they both chanted while Sheila struck the giant with another lightning bolt. The young Japanese boy frowned and concentrated, lifting the huge man off the ground finally.

"Firestorm!" Kirche called out, sending sheets of fire into Tabitha's wind, amplifying the fire tremendously.

The Antean giant screamed, a pure terror and pain that he thought could never be visited upon him, even as a larger and more potent bolt of lightning struck. "Mother!"

Just to be sure, Sheila sent her familiar tornado to deposit the body in the bay like her Uncle Hercules had down with his famed progenitor.

"We won!" the red-headed Germanian whooped out loud, distracting quite a few people.

Sheila landed on the ground. "No, we lost."

"The giant and cyclops are defeated, cousin," Victor Phalanx said as he staggered to his feet. "I would call that victory."

"Gaia's strength is not in her arms, but in her mind. I fear she did something to the portal," she replied even as she checked over each of them. Only Victor was hurt and she cured his wounds with a casual wave even as she held her bottle up for the tornado to fill back up. With a roar, the tornado was sucked into the small container.

Special Agent Styles coughed loudly. "Would someone please explain what happened here?"

And in far away Halkeginia, bronze rose petals melted into the ground in the Vestri Court with none the wiser.


End file.
